


Love

by poet_olskuv



Series: Don't Expect Me to Update These Regularly [16]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Annabeth Chase is a Good Friend (Percy Jackson), Anxiety, Aphrodite Ships It, Asthma, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Bickering, Blood and Injury, Boys In Love, Communication, Conversations, Dorks in Love, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Gay Nico di Angelo, Happy Nico di Angelo, Healers, Healthy Relationships, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt Nico di Angelo, Idiots in Love, Internal Conflict, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Kinda, Love Confessions, M/M, Major Character Injury, Male Homosexuality, Minor Injuries, Monsters, Nico Feels, Nico Misses Bianca, Nico di Angelo & Jason Grace Friendship, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Nico di Angelo & Piper McLean Friendship, Nico di Angelo & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano Friendship, Nico di Angelo Needs a Hug, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Cute, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace are Dorks, Nico di Angelo is Bad at Feelings, Nico di Angelo is a Cute Dork, Nico di Angelo is a Little Shit, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Nico is a Dork, Nico-centric, Not Canon Compliant - The Trials of Apollo, Oblivious Nico di Angelo, Percy Jackson is a Good Bro, Percy Jackson is a Good Friend, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Gaea & The Second Giant War (Percy Jackson), Psychological Trauma, References to Depression, Romantic Soulmates, Sad Nico di Angelo, Sassy Nico, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Social Anxiety, Some Humor, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swordfighting, Teasing, Three Days in the Infirmary (Percy Jackson), Trauma, True Love, Will Solace is a Ball of Sunshine, Will Solace is a Dork, Will Solace is a Good Boyfriend, it's endearing though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 33,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26862415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poet_olskuv/pseuds/poet_olskuv
Summary: Nico hated the idea of soulmates.--OR--After Gaea's defeat, Nico di Angelo stays at Camp Half-Blood. A certain healer by the name of Will Solace helps him come to terms with what he's been through.(Solangelo Soulmate AU)
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Don't Expect Me to Update These Regularly [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511432
Comments: 22
Kudos: 251





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi :)
> 
> Just an FYI, first few chapters are a retelling of the last parts of Blood of Olympus. I started from where I did just for the sake of context.
> 
> That being said...
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Trials of Apollo books. I do not own any of Rick Riordan’s work. I do not own Camp Half-Blood, or any such settings as well. I am, however, a fan with an overactive imagination, and if Rick were to somehow find my stuff and request for me to delete it, then I would in a heartbeat.
> 
> Happy Reading!

Nico hated the idea of soulmates.

He’d always been told that he would find his soulmate, that he would find someone to complete him. That part sounded great, but the catch was that he had also always been told that that person would be female. Honestly, no matter how ashamed he was to admit it, he just didn’t find girls attractive. He was gay, and he’d never heard of gay soulmates, so he wasn’t looking forward to meeting a girl he’d been _assigned_ by the gods.

Nico wondered a lot whether or not the gods got a kick out of torturing him.

Nico felt stupid for ever developing a crush on Percy Jackson. He’d been ten years old, but even considering that, he thought that it was absolutely idiotic. He hated thinking about all of the times Percy had made his heart race. Even now, the feelings had faded, but Nico still had a soft spot for the boy. He knew that he would still do stupid things for Percy, and it was horribly aggravating, but at least it was mostly platonic now. At least thoughts of Percy hadn’t made him cry himself to sleep in a while.

Though, maybe Nico was still going to do stupid things for guys he liked because now, he’d done something previously unthinkable all because of a certain son of Apollo. Nico had decided to try and see if he could find a true home at Camp Half-Blood. It may have been a stupid decision, but Will had seemed genuine when he’d told Nico that people wanted to be his friend there. He’d seemed like he really wanted Nico to stay.

Just thinking about it made Nico smile, a few skeletal butterflies flapping away inside of him.

Nico knew that it was stupid. He knew that Will would just be another Percy. Eventually, Will would find his soulmate, and Nico would be left to watch his crush love a girl instead of him...again. This was just a cycle that Nico would always fall into, but he couldn’t stop the way he was starting to feel around Will. He’d only really spoken to him once and in the middle of a battle. It was nothing but bickering, but it had made Nico feel giddier than he had in a long time.

Of course, Will probably didn’t even want Nico to be his _friend_ anymore, not after he had let Octavian kill himself like that. Who would want to associate with someone who had just sat back and watched someone die a preventable death? Will probably thought that Nico was a monster. Nico hadn’t spoken to Will since because Will was so busy in the infirmary, but that didn’t matter. Will probably wouldn’t want to see him anyways.

So Nico spent most of the day alone.

By the time evening came around, the dining hall was crowded. It was a strange sight for Nico, seeing the Greeks and Romans getting along so well together after secretly visiting both camps for so long. Now, everyone was together. They seemed to be having fun, and honestly, Nico had never felt more like an outsider. The Romans and the Greeks were getting along, but he didn’t feel like a Roman. He didn’t even feel like a Greek anymore. He honestly just felt like an outsider, maybe like a traitor. People had been treating him like a spy for a while now, but it was only just beginning to sink in.

When it was time for announcements, Chiron stepped up and raised his goblet. He thanked the gods for the victory, and all of the various campers echoed his toast, even if it felt weird to thank the gods when they had been the ones to need saving this entire time. It was when Chiron spoke again that people truly became enthusiastic.

“And to new friends!”

“TO NEW FRIENDS!”

Dinner continued amicably, and once it was over, everyone sat around the campfire, looking at the stars. Maybe they were hoping that Leo Valdez would spontaneously emerge from the sky. Maybe they weren’t. Regardless, it didn’t happen. The sky was just the sky, and Nico couldn’t look at it for too long. He had never particularly liked looking at the stars.

After a few songs that Nico didn’t participate in, Reyna and Frank were called up to the front. They were met by clapping and cheering, and Nico had to admit that it was nice to see Frank finally being accepted. He was a war hero and praetor now, so he was bound to be more respected now.

“Tomorrow,” Reyna announced, “we Romans must return. We appreciate your hospitality, especially since we almost killed you—“

“You almost _got_ killed,” Annabeth corrected.

“Whatever, Chase.”

The crowd laughed and gasped theatrically at the exchange. Even Nico couldn’t help but smile a little.

Nico was only half paying attention as they continued. He felt a little bad about it, but he was still incredibly fatigued from overusing his powers so much, and that always made it hard to focus, especially coupled with his ADHD. It was hard to keep his brain on one track.

After Connor and Dakota had said something about parties, Nico shook his head a little, trying to focus. It wasn’t like anyone could see him and judge him for his lack of attention—he was lurking in the shadows like he always did—but he legitimately wanted to be attentive and listen to what Reyna and Frank had to say.

“So, thank you,” Reyna concluded with a smile. “All of you. We could’ve chosen hatred and war. Instead, we found acceptance and friendship.”

Then she did something completely unexpected. She walked over, right to where Nico was lurking in the darkness. She grabbed his hand and gently pulled him into the firelight. Nico was alarmed. He could see everyone from both camps staring at him. Did they think he was a traitor? A spy? Did anyone even trust him anymore?

“We had one home,” Reyna said, looking directly into Nico’s eyes. “Now, we have two.”

She gave Nico a big hug, and the crowd cheered. For once, Nico didn’t pull away. He’d grown close to Reyna in their limited time together, so he hugged her back. He hadn’t felt this way with someone since Bianca, so he held on tightly and blinked the tears out of his eyes.

Maybe Will had been right. Maybe there were people that really _did_ care about him.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico slept in the Hades cabin that night. He stayed there with Hazel. She partitioned off her side of the room using bedsheets, but it still felt nice to be with her. It felt nice to share a space with his sister. He hadn’t done so since Bianca had joined the Hunters of Artemis. Of course, it still felt different, but it was good nonetheless. It helped him feel less lonely.

No one knew just how lonely he felt all the time. No one knew how doubt, fear, and shame choked him and pulled him further into the depths of depression. No one understood just how everything he had been through had changed him. He wasn’t the happy, outgoing kid with Mythomagic cards and an obsession with pirates anymore. In only about four years, that boy had been wiped from existence and replaced with a mess of fear and darkness.

Hazel made some of that darkness go away, but she would be going back to Camp Jupiter soon because it was her home. It was where her soulmate was.

Nico didn’t know if he’d ever had a true home like Hazel did.

Frank spent some time with Hazel on her side of the partition, so Nico took that opportunity to change. He’d gotten some new clothes, so he could actually sleep in pajamas now.

Nico had only just pulled on his pajama pants when he heard the hanging sheet rustle slightly. When he turned his head, he saw Frank leaving Hazel’s side of the room. Frank’s eyes went a little wide as he looked Nico’s way.

Nico quickly threw on a t-shirt, self-conscious. He didn’t like people seeing him shirtless. Not only was he self-conscious about his body, but his soul-mark was also on his shoulder blade. He didn’t exactly enjoy the attention that the sight of it drew towards him.

“Hey,” Frank ended up saying. “We’ll be leaving in the morning. Just wanted to thank you.”

Nico sat on the corner of his bunk, trying to dispel the slight awkward tension. “You did great, Frank...It’s been an honor.”

Frank smiled. They talked for a few moments more, just about how Frank was glad to be alive and how Nico was sure he would have a bit more time left. Talking with Frank didn’t make Nico overly anxious, but he still felt awkward. He knew that maybe he should have played the role of the “protective older brother,” but Frank was a good guy. Plus, he and Hazel were _soulmates_. Nico didn’t feel the need to threaten him or anything. Frank wouldn’t hurt Hazel, at least not on purpose.

“Be good to my sister, okay?” Nico ended up saying.

Just then, Hazel emerged. She was wearing unicorn pajamas that made her look even more adorable than she already was, and Nico smiled slightly at her.

She walked up to Frank and laced their fingers together. “Nico, you’re not threatening my boyfriend, are you?”

They smiled sweetly at each other, and Nico felt a pang of loneliness in his chest. He was glad that they seemed so comfortable together and that Hazel was in a healthy relationship, but seeing the affection felt like an old wound throbbing in his heart. He wished that that kind of happiness was possible for him. He wished that he wasn’t gay.

“No need for threats,” Nico assured. “Frank’s a good guy. Or bear. Or bulldog—“

“Oh, stop,” Hazel laughed.

“I should go,” Frank said. “Nico...you sure you don’t wanna come with us? You’ll always have a place in New Rome.”

Nico hummed. “Thanks, Praetor. Reyna told me the same thing, but...no.”

“I hope I’ll see you again?”

“Oh, you will,” he promised. “I’m going to be the flower boy at your wedding, right?”

“Uh...”

Frank cleared his throat and said a quick goodbye before running into the doorjamb and leaving. Hazel sighed and admonished Nico for teasing Frank like that. Nico just shrugged, and eventually Hazel decided to sit right next to him on the bed. She leaned her head on his shoulder, so Nico wrapped an arm around her. Lately, Nico had been making more of a point to show her affection, just because he never knew when either of them was going to die. He’d missed platonic affection over the years, and he was glad that Hazel was getting more and more comfortable with him.

For a while, they merely sat there in comfortable silence. Nico realized, not for the first time, that him and Hazel were actually very similar. Not only were they both children of the Underworld, but they were also both from the past. They’d both been forcibly ripped from their families because of death. Nico wondered how Hazel was dealing with it so well while Nico felt like every second of every day was beating him down. Maybe Hazel really was just stronger than him.

“I’m going to miss you,” Nico said. He meant it too; he really loved Hazel.

Hazel snuggled closer. “You too, big brother. You _will_ visit.”

They sat and chatted for a bit, and it was nice until they started talking about Leo. She began crying, and Nico just tried to make her realize that wasn’t her fault. She was so upset, though, so Nico just held her as she wept.

Eventually, she ended up falling asleep from exhaustion. Nico tucked her into his own bed and kissed her forehead. Then, for the first time, he went over to his father’s shrine and knelt down to pray.

Nico prayed for guidance because he just didn’t know what to do anymore. He had no purpose, no goal or dream for his life. At least, he didn’t have a realistic one. What he _really_ wanted was love. Not only did he want romantic love, but he also wanted some friends. He could remember how he’d felt when he’d been trapped in the bronze jar. He’d been so sure that no one would save him, and really, they wouldn’t have if he hadn’t had information. Maybe Hazel would have tried to convince them because she constantly felt indebted to him, but no one else would have cared, especially not Percy or Annabeth because they knew him best. They knew just how worthless he was.

Whenever _anyone_ dug too much into Nico, all they found was ugliness.

Maybe he just didn’t deserve to be loved by people.


	3. Chapter 3

Nico didn’t sleep, so he was awake when someone knocked on the door.

Nico looked over as the door opened, and for a split second, he thought it was Will Solace. It wasn’t, though. It was Jason, and Nico found himself disappointed when he realized that. Then, he felt angry because what kind of person was that much of a jerk? Jason had always been kind to him, so he didn’t deserve Nico’s moodiness.

Nico couldn’t help but think about Will, though. His brain seemed to just be _stuck_ on the thought of him, and Nico hated that they’d left off on a sour note. He was so sure that Will thought he was a monster for what had happened with Octavian, and it made him feel sick. By now, Will Solace knew just how creepy and _sick_ Nico di Angelo had always been. Nico didn’t want to care about what Will thought of him, but just imagining how revolting he must’ve been to Will made him so upset. He felt sad and angry at the same time.

“You okay?” Jason asked. “You look—“

“Fine,” he snapped before taking a deep breath and softening his tone. “If you’re looking for Hazel, she’s still asleep.”

Jason pulled him outside, and they ended up making small talk about Jason’s new task of building shrines for minor gods and goddesses. Nico was so tired that his brain wasn’t functioning properly, but he just tried to listen as best as he could.

Eventually, Jason bit his lip and fiddled with his glasses. “Look, Nico, the reason I wanted to talk to you...I know what you said back at Auster’s place. I know you already turned down a place at Camp Jupiter. I, I probably can’t change your mind about leaving Camp Half-Blood, but I have to—“

“I’m staying.”

Jason blinked. “What?”

Nico looked away from Jason. “I’m staying at Camp Half-Blood. The Hades cabin needs a head counselor. Have you seen the decor? It’s disgusting. I’ll have to renovate. And someone has to do burial rights properly, since demigods _insist_ on dying heroically.”

A bright grin spread across Jason’s face. “That’s—that’s fantastic! Dude!” he exclaimed, opening his arms for a hug before second-guessing himself. “Right. No touching. Sorry.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I suppose we can make an exception.”

Jason swept Nico up in a giant bear hug and started gushing about how much _fun_ they could have together. It was a little hard for Nico to breathe, and it almost felt like his ribs were being crushed, but it was fine. It was actually kind of nice, but then Nico saw something over Jason’s shoulder. Someone was waving at him.

And that someone was Will Solace.

Will was standing in the doorway of the Apollo cabin with a stern look on his face. Once he caught Nico’s eye, he pointed to the ground at his feet almost as if Nico was his misbehaving kid that was about to be scolded. Nico’s gut sank, but he still knew that he needed to talk to him.

Nico gulped and pulled away. “Jason, would you excuse me?”

By the time Nico was in front of Will, the latter had his arms crossed over his chest. He was wearing a green surgeon’s shirt as well as jeans and flip flops. The outfit was absolutely ridiculous and probably not standard hospital protocol, but Will probably didn’t care.

“So where were you?” Will demanded.

Nico blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been stuck in the infirmary for, like, two days. You don’t come by. You don’t offer to help,” Will pouted.

“I...what? Why would you want a son of Hades in the same room with people you’re trying to heal? Why would _anyone_ want that?”

“You can’t help out a friend? Maybe cut bandages? Bring me a soda or a snack? Or just a simple ‘How’s it going, Will?’ You don’t think I could stand to see a friendly face?”

Nico was so utterly confused. He had no idea what Will was talking about. Since when was he a _friendly face_?

“What... _my_ face?”

Will rolled his eyes. “You’re so dense. I hope you got over that nonsense about leaving Camp Half-Blood.”

“I—yeah. I did. I mean, I’m staying.”

“Good,” Will hummed. “So you may be dense, but at least you’re not an idiot.”

Nico didn’t know what he was feeling, but it was unfamiliar, and he didn’t like it, so he scowled.

“How can you even talk to me like that? Don’t you know I can summon zombies and skeletons—“

“Right now you couldn’t summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness, di Angelo,” Will said. “I told you, no more Underworldy stuff, doctor’s orders. You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary. Starting _now_.”

Nico felt like thousands of tiny, skeletal butterflies were being resurrected in his stomach. It was nearly electrifying, and it made him dizzy.

“Three days? I—I suppose that would be okay.”

Three days with Will Solace sounded more than okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is where the chapters start taking place AFTER Blood of Olympus :)

Nico had come out to five people so far in his life. He’d been forced to come out to Jason and had accidentally come out to Reyna and Hedge, but he’d told Percy and Annabeth completely on his own. Did he regret telling Percy that he’d had a crush on him? He didn’t know. Honestly, all that had really existed for him for the past twenty-four hours had been Will Solace, Will’s siblings, and the infirmary. Not that he was complaining too much.

When Will had actually checked Nico over, Nico had been more flustered than he’d ever been in his life. It was hard not to be when an attractive boy was touching him, placing his hand on his forehead and wrists to see just what was wrong with him. Will actually seemed a bit concerned over Nico’s weight as well as how tired he was, so he ended up making him sit or lie down for most of the time that he was there. Nico didn’t really feel like a patient, though, because he spent his time helping cut bandages and keeping Will company, just as the latter had suggested. Will had forced him to eat food that he really hadn’t been optimistic about and bossed him around, but Nico just let him.

Nico had had a hard time letting people tell him what to do ever since he’d gone off on his own. It was partially just his natural defense and partially a sort of bitterness that he’d started to harbor because of how he felt that people saw him. He was a child of the Big Three. He’d convinced Hades to fight in the war against Kronos, taken Hazel to Camp Jupiter, led everyone to the Doors of Death, and transported the Athena Parthenos across an entire _ocean_. He kept doing things like this, but no one ever called him a hero. He was just some _kid_. Percy was always the hero—Jason too—while Nico was completely insignificant.

In the infirmary and with Will, though, Nico finally felt important. He finally felt like he was actually appreciated and seen as more than just the creepy Hades kid. He didn’t mind Will bossing him around because it was different with him. Nico didn’t feel like he had anything to prove. This was Will’s area of expertise, so Nico just went along with what he said, though he’d probably still let Will boss him around even outside of the infirmary. As long as Will wanted his company, Nico was just happy to be there.

There was eventually a lull in activity, and Nico found himself playing Disney princess themed Go Fish with Will in his office. Will was still wearing those stupid flip flops and a surgeons shirt—a blue one this time—but it was almost endearing at this point. It was just so _Will_.

“Got any Jasmines?”

“Go fish,” Nico hummed. “Any brunettes in yellow dresses?”

“Belle, Nico—and here,” Will rolled his eyes, handing over a card. “How have you never heard of any of these?”

Nico shrugged. “I was born in the late 1920s. My dad sent me into the Lotus Hotel when I was eight or nine, I think, and by the time I got out, I didn’t know any of these things.”

“Wait, what?” Will asked, putting down his cards. He seemed legitimately surprised. “You were born in the _twenties_? You’re like eighty-something?”

Nico frowned a bit. “I, I mean, I’m not _really_ that old. In every way except chronologically, because of how weird time is in the hotel, I’m still fourteen. It just felt like we were there for a few weeks at most...I thought everyone knew that about me.”

“I absolutely did not know that,” Will said before a look of horror overcame his face. “Oh gods, are you _vaccinated_? Do I need to worry about you catching, like, polio or something?”

Nico couldn’t help smiling a bit. Will’s concerned and slightly theatric attitude was endearing and also a bit funny. It was crazy, but Nico had never felt like smiling so much around another person. He guessed that Will was just a happy pill.

“I got vaccinated a bit after I went out on my own. I’m fine. Honestly, I don’t even really remember anything from back then. My dad took me and...me and my sister’s memories.”

“You don’t remember anything from the first eight years of your life?”

“I mean, I think I’m still fluent in Italian. I vaguely remember some things about my mother too...and the gelato from the gelateria like a mile from our house. Also one of my neighbors who had PTSD from the Great War. But, yeah, mostly blank.”

“You don’t think—“

Before Will could finish, someone entered the infirmary. He immediately put his cards down and sighed.

“You win. Now, come help me with whoever this is.”

Nico rolled his eyes but still followed Will out of the office. He was surprised to see Percy standing there, an arrow sticking straight out of his left bicep and blood running down his arm. Behind him was a newer camper, a ten-year-old Hermes girl named Veronica. She looked guilt-ridden and terrified.

Will sighed as he looked between them. “What happened?”

“The Stolls, archery practice, and me in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Percy said simply before he turned to Veronica. “Veronica, really, you don’t have to be here.”

“I _shot_ you.”

Will went up and put a hand on Veronica’s shoulder. She seemed to calm instantly. It must’ve been some sort of magical ability. Nico knew from experience that Will’s touch was just so ineffably soothing and nice. It was unfair.

“Go ahead and go back, Veronica. Me and Nico have this from here.”

Veronica ended up leaving, and Percy looked confused once he seemed to realize that Nico was actually there with Will. Nico couldn’t look at him without feeling awkward, considering that he had told him about his feelings just the day before. Maybe it was a little too soon to be around Percy.

“Why are _you_ here, Nico?”

Nico knew that Percy wasn’t intending to be mean, but it still made him wince because it reminded him that he didn’t belong here. He was just here so Will could make sure that he didn’t try to use his powers for a while. He, yet again, was in a place in which he didn’t belong.

“He’s been keeping me company,” Will answered in Nico’s place, leading Percy to a chair so that he could sit. “He actually just _smoked_ me in a game of Go Fish a minute ago.”

Nico felt the dead butterflies in his stomach come back to life once again, hearing Will talk about him. Will sounded happy as he spoke about him, and it had been a long time since Nico had heard someone talk about him like that.

Percy looked baffled, and Nico couldn’t blame him. He knew that he didn’t exactly seem like someone that kept Will Solace company in the infirmary and played Go Fish. He usually _wasn’t_ that person, but he seemed to be doing a lot of unusual things as of late. He was trying to be more open and to stop isolating himself so much, so maybe that was what was happening.

Regardless of the cause, it was still pretty strange.

Will turned to Nico. “Can you get some bandages and gauze?”

Nico did as told, and as soon as he was back, Will yanked the arrow out of Percy’s arm. Percy grunted in pain, but Will seemed completely unfazed. He smiled his usual sunny smile at Nico as he grabbed the bandages and gauze from him.

“Keep his sleeve pulled up, please.”

Nico awkwardly walked over to Percy and avoided eye contact as he bunched up his sleeve. Percy’s wound was right in the middle of his soul-mark—a dark grey owl. It looked a little like the owl had been shot in the throat.

Will gently wrapped up Percy’s arm, and Nico helped secure it as Will gave Percy the smallest bit of ambrosia. It was very quick and efficient. Nico would even say that him and Will worked _well_ together. When it came to treating injuries, that was. Of course that was what Nico had meant.

Will left the room for a second, and Nico sat in a chair so that Will wouldn’t yell at him for standing for too long. Nico had to admit that his body _did_ feel very weak, so it honestly made sense. Still, that just meant that he was alone with Percy, and that was very awkward.

“So...you’re friends with Will now?”

Nico gulped a little. “I guess.”

“When did _that_ happen?” Percy asked in disbelief. “Don’t get me wrong, but you two don’t exactly seem like you’d get along.”

Nico just shrugged. “When the Romans attacked and when Gaea rose, we...worked together.”

There was an awkward silence, and Nico had no idea why Percy wasn’t leaving. Percy was just awkwardly standing there.

“So...you had a crush on me.”

Nico glared at him. “Be  _quiet_. Not everyone knows.”

Percy’s eyes went wide in realization. “You mean...you told me before other people?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Well, yeah,” Percy said. “I mean, we’ve had a bit of a rocky history, and you seemed pretty adamant about not being friends before.”

“Well, you were the one that made me realize I was gay, so I figured you should know at some point.”

“I was?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I was _ten_ , Percy. How many crushes do you think I’d had before then?”

“Okay, that’s a good point,” Percy conceded. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. “I didn’t notice, and I talked a bit with Annabeth, and she...she pointed out that the attitude towards gay people was really bad back in the thirties, and I’m just sorry you were alone. It’s...It’s okay to be gay, Nico. I hope you know that.”

Nico didn’t know that, and he didn’t believe Percy. How could it be fine? How could it be okay to be gay when there was a mark on his back that tied him to some _girl_ that he was supposed to end up with? It wouldn’t make sense. He appreciated that Percy was trying to be nice, but it wasn’t that simple.

The longer that Nico went without answering, the sadder Percy looked. He looked almost like he was going to try to hug Nico, but then Will came back.

“You’re good to go, Jackson.”

Percy nodded a bit and gave Nico an intense look. “Okay. See you around Will, Nico.”

“See you.”

When Percy left, Nico felt the awkwardness and tension stick with him. What was he doing? He was pining over Will even when he knew that it was wrong. He’d been deluding himself into thinking that him and Will could ever work out. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way for another boy, and it was wrong to hope that he could end up with him.

It was wrong to want Will like he did.


	5. Chapter 5

Even after the mandatory three days in the infirmary, Nico still ended up showing up there quite a bit. He would worry about being an inconvenience if it wasn’t for how happy Will looked when he stopped by.

Will was a very expressive person. It was pretty easy to see how he was feeling, and it was reassuring because Nico had always been one to jump to conclusions. When Will was very obviously happy, Nico’s doubts didn’t stick nearly as easily. Nico felt more comfortable around Will than he had felt around anyone in a long time, and he dared to say that they were easily becoming best friends at this point.

Nico was happy to be getting close to someone in a friendly way, but it was also frustrating because his feelings for Will just kept growing. Nico found himself getting lost in his comforting and bright blue eyes. He’d feel these urges to just run his hands through Will’s golden strands of wavy hair or wrap an arm around him, and it made Nico mad. He hated that his own feelings couldn’t leave him alone long enough for him to make a friend.

Still, Nico was determined not to let it ruin their budding friendship.

Will and Nico were walking towards the beach at one point. They had some free time, and Will had surprised Nico by picking him up from his cabin and suggesting that they went on a walk together. It was nice, though. Will’s presence was very comforting, and talking to him helped Nico feel more normal.

When they reached the beach, they spotted quite a few of Will’s siblings as well as some Aphrodite girls, Percy, and Annabeth. Everyone was in bathing suits, and Nico felt like he stuck out with his black jeans and black sweater—after Gaea’s defeat, he’d retired the practically demolished aviator jacket. Even Will looked fitter for the beach with his shorts, t-shirt, open flannel, and flip flops. Nico supposed that he would always stand out, though.

Percy waved at the two of them as they approached, and Will waved back while Nico just nodded in his direction. The two of them ended up sitting next to Annabeth on the dock. She had a tank top and short shorts on, and her feet were dangling in the water. Will dunked his feet in the water too, flip flops and all, but Nico just crossed his legs.

“Hey, Will, Nico,” Annabeth greeted. “How’s it going?”

Will smiled, sticking his hands behind him and leaning back on them, basking in the sun. “We’re doing alright. We were both free, so I figured I’d pull Nico out of his cabin to get out a bit and get some sun.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to spend time with me,” Nico said, tone slightly clipped. He was only partially kidding. A big part of him actually wondered if Will didn’t really want to spend time with him. Ever since he had started spending time with Will, he’d wondered if he only kept him around because he wanted him to be healthy. Of course, Will often expressed his want to be around Nico, but Nico just couldn’t understand why someone would want to be around him at all, especially someone like Will.

Will bumped their shoulders together. “Of course I wanted to spend time with you. But we’re usually indoors when we hang out, and I felt like a bit of sun would be good for you.”

Nico tried to force back his smile, but Will’s amused expression told him that it wasn’t working. Nico sighed and stopped fighting it. At this point, he’d accepted the fact that being around Will always came with a lot of smiles. It was hard for Nico to _stop_ smiling when they were together.

Will beamed at Nico for a second more before looking away and instead looking forward. He seemed to _glow_ as he sat there, and it was clear that he _definitely_ belonged in the sun. Of course, all of the Apollo kids belonged in the sunlight, but Nico thought that Will did even more so than his siblings. The sunlight brought out the deep tan in his skin and made his hair shine brightly. His freckles looked even more prominent in the sunlight as well, and Nico was drawn yet again to the way that they covered his face. He also had a slight skier’s tan that made him look endearing. Will was just so unlike any guy that Nico had ever known. He was just...warm. That was all Nico could think of to describe him. Will was warm and effortlessly casual, like a cat stretching out in the sunshine.

Nico only realized that he’d been staring at Will when the boy splashed him with his foot. Nico flinched at the wetness on him, and Will smiled devilishly. Nico was going to get him back for that.

Nico reached down and splashed a big wave of water right in Will’s face, drenching his hair.

“Oh, you’re so on, di Angelo.”

And so they started splashing each other in earnest. Annabeth eventually had to move to avoid being hit with water, and quite a few people watched them as they both got drenched. They ended up laughing and almost wrestling each other on the dock, and Nico vaguely noticed more people look over at them.

It had been a long time since Nico had laughed, especially like this, but it just felt natural. He felt so happy and carefree around Will. It was like that little boy from years ago was coming back whenever him and Will had fun together. It had only been a couple of weeks, but Nico already loved being around Will. It already made him happier than he had been in such a long time.

Eventually, though, as Will and Nico were both leaning over to splash each other, Nico lost his balance. He instinctively grabbed onto Will to try and catch himself, but that just caused Will to lose his balance as well.

And then Nico was falling.

Nico’s first reaction was to panic as he fell into the water. Instead of holding his breath, he ended up gasping in water. He grasped at Will nearly desperately and accidentally ended up reaching beneath Will’s shirt and clutching at his bare skin. He was freaking out, though, so he thought that he had a valid excuse.

Nico’s head hit something hard and sharp, and pain shot through him. He tried to gasp, but there was only water around him, and he choked on it. It burned his throat and made his eyes sting, but he was too panicked to process how he was supposed to escape it. All that he could process was fear, and he swore that he could _feel_ the darkness coming out of him.

And then, a pair of hands pulled him to the surface. Nico coughed and gasped hysterically as he was suddenly able to breathe. Arms wrapped around him, and within a second, he was pressed against someone’s—Will’s—front. He was still freaked out, but he had something to ground him now, so he just grabbed onto Will’s wet shirt and shivered as his throat and sinuses burned.

“Hey, it’s okay, Nico,” Will shushed, running a hand up and down Nico’s back. “Just try and breathe. I’ve got you.”

By the time Nico calmed down, Will’s hand was gently searching through the hair around the side of his face. Nico winced as Will’s fingers hit a tender spot.

“Is he okay?” Annabeth asked from the dock.

“He’s bleeding from his head, but I can’t sense any damage to his brain or skull, so it’s minor,” Will answered before pulling back from Nico a bit and looking at him in the eye. “Let’s get you to the infirmary, okay?”

Nico just let himself be dragged along.


	6. Chapter 6

Annabeth had come with Will and Nico to the infirmary, and she stayed with Nico as Will got some extra clothes for them from his office. Nico was shivering as he stood, and Annabeth kept worriedly looking over at him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Nico grumbled.

Annabeth definitely didn’t believe him, but she also didn’t push him. Nico was grateful for that. For how much Nico had despised Annabeth before, she actually wasn’t all that bad.

“So, you and Will have gotten really close lately,” she eventually said.

“Yeah, and?”

Annabeth frowned at him. “I was just wondering if...you know, maybe you two had something special going on?”

Nico rolled his eyes. Annabeth was the daughter of Athena, but she was dumb if she thought that Nico and Will would ever be together. Why would Will _ever_ want to be with Nico? Nico was dark, moody, and—most importantly—a guy. Will would never be interested in Nico like that.

“You’re stupid if you think that that would ever happen,” Nico said with a scowl. “Even if I wanted it to, he’s him, and I’m me.”

“What do you mean by that?” Annabeth pressed. “What about you two makes you so incompatible?”

“He’s amazing, and I’m pathetic? He’s all kind and personable while I’m socially awkward and have mental health issues?”

Annabeth’s eyes softened. “Nico...”

“Alright,” Will cut in as he stepped into the room. “I’ve got some clothes for you. They may be a little big on you and a bit bright for your taste, but they’re something.”

Nico grabbed the clothes from Will and left the room so that he could change. As soon as he was in the bathroom, he shucked off all of his cold, wet clothes. Will had even gotten boxers for him, and that was appreciated. He hated being wet.

The jeans that Will had gotten for Nico were a little loose, but they stayed up, so it was fine. Nico paused before putting on the orange shirt he’d been given, though, and he looked at himself in the mirror. His skin looked sickly pale, but it was a lot better than it had been right when he’d gotten out of the jar. He was also incredibly skinny. He was slowly gaining weight, but he was still scrawny and gaunt with a very visible ribcage. There were also scars all over his torso. The most noticeable were the many, many scars that he had earned in his fight with the werewolf pack back in Portugal. Nico hadn’t really taken the time to look at himself lately, but he really didn’t like what he saw now that he was finally doing so. He felt like he didn’t even look like a teenager. He looked like a tortured former prisoner of war, but that was what he was. It was a difficult thing to accept, but he had been through two wars. He’d seen and sensed too much death for even a son of Hades, and he’d fought to stay alive even when he‘d felt as though his life had been meaningless. He’d saved people like Hazel, and he’d let people die like Octavian. He’d turned Bryce Lawrence into a ghost out of pure rage.

Nico couldn’t possibly still be a kid after all of that.

Nico turned away from the mirror but still looked into it and at his shoulder. He didn’t like acknowledging the existence of his soul-mark, but it still existed, no matter how much he disliked it. In fact, it was like a beacon because of how _sparkly_ it was.

Nico’s mark covered his entire right shoulder blade. It was pure gold and glittered in absolutely any light. It depicted a lyre in front of a sun, and below the image was the word “love,” written in Ancient Greek. It didn’t match his personality at all, and that just made him dread meeting his soulmate even more. He probably wouldn’t even get along with his soulmate _platonically_.

Nico felt like he was breaking apart at the seams as he pulled on the shirt that he’d been given. It was baggy, and it made him feel even smaller and more vulnerable than usual. He really didn’t need that. It just made him feel like prey.

When Nico eventually walked back out, Will and Annabeth were still there, talking. They had serious looks on their faces, and they both looked a little sad. It was a little peculiar, but Nico didn’t look into it too much. Honestly, it was hard to focus through the cloud of hopelessness and loneliness that he was shrouded in.

Nico passed by Will’s sister, Sarah, and gave her a small wave. She smiled sweetly at him, but he barely even saw it. He barely saw anything beyond his overwhelming emotions.

When Will and Annabeth saw Nico approaching, they both smiled at him. Their smiles looked different. Annabeth’s looked slightly awkward, but Will’s looked genuine and beautiful. His eyes were sparkling with some sort of positive emotion that was hard to place, and Nico was hit with the overwhelming urge to hug him.

Will treated Nico, and Annabeth left once she was sure that his injury was okay. Nico and Will ended up in their own little bubble like they always did, and it just made Nico even more emotional.

Once Will was done treating the wound, Nico stood. Will looked concerned.

“Are you okay?”

Nico didn’t answer the question. He just averted his eyes to the floor so that he could hide the tears that were desperately trying to fall from his eyes. He’d been bottling up a lot of hurt for a long time, and he felt like it was all spilling over.

“Can you hug me?” Nico ended up asking, voice as soft as a whisper.

Will didn’t even answer. He just wrapped Nico in a big hug. They were both slightly damp and slightly cold, but it was still the most comforting hug that Nico had ever experienced. It was so comforting that Nico felt all of his defenses shut down. He held onto Will so tightly that it probably hurt and sobbed into his shoulder.

“I’m so scared, Will,” he fearfully admitted.

Will hummed. “What are you scared of?”

“I don’t know,” Nico wept. “I’ve just—I’ve just been scared for so long, and I don’t—I’ve been hurt so much, and I can’t do it anymore. I can’t—I can’t live like this, Will. I can’t keep being so terrified all the time.”

Will tightened his hold on Nico and nuzzled their heads together. Nico sobbed a little harder at that because he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve _anything_ good. All that he deserved was pain and suffering. He didn’t deserve someone like Will. He didn’t deserve someone who cared about him so much.

“You’ve been through a lot, Nico,” Will hummed. “I can’t even imagine all of the things that these wars have done to your head, but you’re not alone anymore, okay? You have a lot of people that care about you, that want to _help_ you. You have Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, Piper...and you have me. And I’m not going anywhere. If you’re scared, I’ll always be more than willing to hug you like this, or listen to you vent, or even merely sit with you. It hasn’t been long, but you’re my...you’re my best friend now. I’ll always be here for you.”

Nico shook his head and let out a sound that he would later vehemently deny ever making. “I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve people who care about me.”

“You really _are_ dense, Nico di Angelo,” Will sighed. “Of course you deserve people that care about you, but even if you didn’t, it would be pretty hard to get me to stop caring.”

Nico almost smiled a little at Will’s words, but he was still overwhelmed by negative emotions, so he just held on and sobbed. Will comforted him softly and in such a _Will_ way, and it was honestly the most soothing experience of Nico’s life.

Will was a miracle worker.


	7. Chapter 7

The entire camp started to pick up on how inseparable Nico and Will had become. Chiron had even started requesting Nico to accompany Will for many tasks, probably in an attempt to keep Nico there for as long as possible. Sure, Nico had started trying to talk to other people, but it was no secret that Will was his number one.

Percy and Annabeth had gone off to school for the year. They had said that they would try to visit, but they were no longer at Camp Half-Blood. Jason and Piper had left for school too, to California with Piper’s father. Most of the people that Nico actually knew were gone, but he still didn’t want to leave because Will was there, and spending time with Will was the most rewarding use of his time that he could think of.

The friendship between Will and Nico had gotten deeper ever since Nico had broken down that day after his fall. Often, they would stay up late together in the infirmary. Sometimes they’d be organizing, and sometimes they would just be hanging out, but they would always talk. Sometimes, they simply got to know each other more, but a lot of the time, they’d talk about what was eating away at them and comfort each other. Will was actually a very stressed-out guy, even if he always seemed so nonchalant, and Nico often ended up with Will’s head on his shoulder as the healer vented about his anxieties over his position in the Apollo cabin and all of his duties. Most of Nico’s venting ended up being about the wars and the depression and loneliness that had been festering inside of him for several years. In general, though, they both needed support, and they both were happy to support each other.

Nico had started feeling special around Will. He was the only one that saw so deep into the healer’s mind, and it made him feel privileged beyond compare. It felt so good to be trusted like that. He felt like him and Will had something secret and beautiful going on between them, and it was nice.

But it also did nothing to quell Nico’s feelings.

Nico was starting to make more peace with the fact that he was gay, but his affection towards Will had grown to a dangerous level. This was way more intense than it had been with Percy. Nico wanted to be with Will all the time. He wanted to hear him laugh and see him smile every second that his eyes were open. Nico was so enamored with Will that it was honestly a bit ridiculous.

Nico tried to keep it in check, but lately, it seemed as though Will was flirting with him. Maybe that was just who Will was, but it made Nico’s heart race. Every time Will smirked at him, leaned against him, or called him handsome, Nico melted into a puddle of goo. He was so utterly whipped for this boy, and it felt good. Nico thought that it felt amazing to be so happy and giddy all the time. It was definitely better than the alternative.

Hazel came to Camp Half-Blood to visit towards the end of September. Nico only found this out when the door to the Hades cabin opened one morning, waking Nico up after a long night filled with nightmares. He grumbled a bit incoherently towards the door.

“Unless you’re gonna let me sleep, get away from me,” Nico drawled, assuming that it was Will.

“Is that any way to greet your little sister?”

Nico sat up at that, and he turned towards the door. Lo and behold, Hazel was standing right there in the Hades cabin. She’d gotten a little taller, and she looked a lot more collected than she had when Nico had seen her last.

Nico groggily got out of bed and went over to hug his sister. Hazel giggled a little. Soon, Nico had flattened his hair, slipped on some shoes, and exited the cabin with her. They walked together for a bit and vaguely in the direction of the dining pavilion.

“What are you doing here?” Nico asked after a while. “Aren’t centurions supposed to be busy?”

Hazel huffed. “Well, I wouldn’t _have_ to come if my brother had ever come to visit me.”

Nico gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Honestly, he’d been too distracted by Will to remember to visit, and he felt a little guilty about that.

“Sorry, I’ve just...been busy.”

“You have, huh?” Hazel hummed. “What have you been doing?”

Nico bit his lip. He didn’t know what to tell her. He didn’t think he was ready to tell her about his sexuality, but he also wondered how she would react to his friendship with Will. Would she find that weird? Him and Will didn’t exactly seem like a natural match, so would she even believe him?

“Training,” Nico answered. “I’ve been helping out a bit in the infirmary too.”

“ _You_ have been helping out in the infirmary?”

Nico grimaced a little, but before he could respond, an arm was wound around him, a familiar hand squeezing his shoulder.

“Since when are you out of bed before I drag you out, di Angelo?” Will hummed. “I saw that your cabin was empty and panicked for a second.”

Nico felt those familiar undead butterflies flap away in his stomach, but on the outside, he just rolled his eyes.

“Hazel’s here. She was the one to wake me up this morning.”

At that, Will looked over to Nico’s other side and smiled at Hazel. “Oh, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Will Solace. I’m the head counselor of the Apollo cabin and the main healer. And obviously, you’re Nico’s sister, Hazel.”

Hazel smiled at him, though she looked a bit confused. “Yeah, I am. It’s nice to meet you...Are you two friends?”

Nico was going to answer, but Will beat him to the punch, squeezing him close dramatically while a teasing smile worked its way onto his face.

“We’re _obviously_ BFFs,” Will scoffed. “I can’t believe you haven’t been gushing about me to your sister, Neeks.”

“Oh, screw off,” Nico sighed. Will just laughed in response.

Hazel looked a little shocked. “ _You two_ are best friends?”

Nico glanced at her a little nervously. “Yeah...we are.”

Will let go of Nico’s shoulder and lowered his arm, sticking both of his hands in his jeans pockets. Nico felt the sudden urge to hold his hand, but he repressed it. He really needed to get his feelings in check. If he didn’t, it could end up being a disaster.

It was a little awkward for a moment, but then Will sighed.

“Well, since you have some company, I’ll leave you two to catch up,” he said. “I’ll get my siblings to breakfast by myself today.”

“Don’t get lost,” Nico quipped.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Will deadpanned before giving Nico a bright smile and turning around to go collect his siblings.

Lately, Will had taken to waking Nico up right before he had to take his cabin to the dining pavilion so that they could walk together. Nico didn’t like that he had to sit alone, but he had been working on a plan of sorts that could change where he had to sit. For now, though, he had to be content with merely walking to meals with Will.

He had his sister for company that day, though.

“So, since when are you best friends with bubbly blonde healers?” Hazel asked.

Nico shrugged. “We worked together during the battle, and he wanted me to be in the infirmary for a few days after so that I could get some rest and so he could make sure I didn’t dissolve into the shadows. I started coming in every day to help out and keep him company. It just kind of happened...He’s nice to be around.”

Hazel smiled brightly at Nico and gave him a firm side-hug. All that Nico could do was chuckle nervously at his sister’s excitement. He was a bit anxious about how she would react or if she would suspect anything. He supposed that it was a long-shot, though. She was from the thirties too, so she probably didn’t automatically assume that someone could be gay, let alone someone close to her.

“I’m glad that you have friends,” Hazel smiled. “You seem happier.”

Nico couldn’t help but let a small smile spread over his lips. “I am.”

Hazel and Nico talked about the state of Camp Jupiter over breakfast, and Nico realized that he really _was_ acting a lot happier. He smiled more, and he was a lot more animated than he usually was. Who knew that having a friend like Will would finally bring Nico out of his shell?

Hazel left shortly after lunch that day, but she made Nico promise to visit soon. She seemed happy. Maybe she was just glad that she didn’t have to worry about Nico anymore.

But did she?


	8. Chapter 8

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Will laughed.

Nico giggled back. “Come on, you don’t actually think that Chiron _believed_ us, do you? He’s probably just sick of us.”

Will shook his head in disbelief, but he didn’t stop laughing. Neither did Nico.

The two of them had just managed to convince Chiron to let Nico sit with the Apollo cabin at mealtimes with help from some zombies, Nico’s “creativity,” and a doctor’s note written by Will, himself. It was absolutely ridiculous, and there was no way that Chiron really believed that Nico had a mood disorder that caused him to spawn zombies whenever he ate alone, but it worked. Chiron was exasperated with them just enough to allow it merely for the sake of keeping the peace. It was really funny, and the fact that it had worked made Nico giddy. He wanted to be around Will all the time, and this was just one step closer. He got along well with Will’s siblings too, so that was a plus. Sitting with them instead of by himself would definitely make him feel less lonely.

During their little meeting, Chiron had also requested Nico to pick up a younger demigod from a public school in New York, though, so he wouldn’t be joining the Apollo cabin for meals that day. Instead, he had to go to his cabin and get his sword so that he could meet one of the satyrs (Florence) at the school. He was supposed to leave immediately.

Before Nico left, Will threw him a Gatorade and told him to keep his electrolytes up since he’d be shadow-traveling. Nico felt flattered over the fact that Will was making sure he took care of himself. It was nice to finally have someone that looked after him. The last time he’d had that was with Bianca, but it was still so different. With Bianca, Nico had often felt like a burden because at that age, he’d been very vulnerable and reliant on her. With Will, it just felt like he cared enough to make sure Nico was healthy. Nico could look after himself, but he didn’t _have_ to with Will.

So, Nico grabbed a small bag to put his Gatorade in as well as a first-aid kit, and once he had everything, he dissolved into the shadows.

Florence was waiting near the entrance of the school when Nico approached, taking a swig of his Gatorade. (Gatorade was absolutely disgusting, but having a crush on Will Solace made him do stupid things, so he drank it anyways.) The satyr looked slightly alarmed.

“Okay, who are we grabbing?”

Florence sighed. “It’s a boy. He just turned eleven years old, and his name is Carter Castro. He’s Cuban and has a soul-mark of a pink dove on his cheek.”

“Do we know who his parent is?”

“No, but his scent has attracted a powerful monster. The monster hasn’t quite picked up on it yet, probably because of the boy’s age, but it’s bound to be soon.”

Nico nodded, and together, they entered the school. It was after the actual school-day, but apparently, Carter had choir practice after school. The monster was the choral director, Miss Baxter, but Florence wasn’t sure what kind of monster she was.

When Nico and Florence walked into the choir room, the director locked eyes with Nico. It was pretty much expected, for Nico was a powerful child of the Big Three. He practically _reeked_ of demigod scent. He definitely had a target on his back, but he was used to it at this point.

There was a lot of senseless talking and some fake introductions before Miss Baxter went back to directing. It was strange that she didn’t immediately try to rip out Nico’s throat, but Nico went with the flow, surveying the room. He spotted a boy fitting Carter’s description towards the left side of the front row. He was short, and he had straight, floppy brown hair. He was fidgeting in his seat, and the boy on his right side looked annoyed. Seemed like ADHD.

Once the practice was over with and almost every kid had left, Miss Baxter walked over and locked eyes with Nico.

“Well, if it isn’t Nico di Angelo,” she hummed.

Nico raised an eyebrow and grabbed his sword from his belt. Miss Baxter just laughed as some more kids left. Carter was the only one left.

“Oh, silly boy. You think _that_ can hurt me? I’m going to rip you to pieces for killing my master.”

And then she did something _completely_ unexpected.

She turned into a wolf.


	9. Chapter 9

See, if Nico had only had to fight off _one_ werewolf, it would have been fine, but that wasn’t how it worked out. Instead, about twelve more werewolves ended up in that classroom, and Nico only had a small silver knife, just like he had back in Portugal. Carter looked absolutely terrified, and Florence wasn’t much better.

The fight started off much like any did. Nico lost track of how many times he punched the same wolf, but he’d killed two by the time he saw one stalk up to Carter. Before the wolf could get to the kid, Nico was in front of him, fighting.

“Carter, stay by Florence,” Nico grunted as the wolf landed a solid scratch diagonally down his cheek. “You need to trust me. He can keep you safe.”

Carter fearfully scurried over to the satyr. Florence seemed to be doing okay fighting off the one wolf that was after him, but _all_ of the others were after Nico. Great, just great. He killed the king of the werewolves, and now every werewolf on earth wanted to kill him. He hated his life.

There were six werewolves remaining when one left a deep scratch in Nico’s back, one so deep that it made him feel like his insides were falling out. It ripped his shirt clean in two and sent him tumbling to the ground. Vaguely, Nico heard Carter cry out.

Florence couldn’t hold off his werewolf for much longer, not while protecting Carter. Nico knew that it would be a disaster if he didn’t act fast.

“Florence, get him out of here!” Nico yelled as he knocked the wolf over, giving the two of them a brief window of escape. Fortunately, they took it.

Nico collapsed onto the ground, and for a brief moment, he thought that this could be it. This could be when he died, right when he had just started to live in a way that actually made him happy. The irony was not lost on him.

The six wolves circled Nico, and he took a shaky breath. He didn’t even know where his knife was.

He was screwed.


	10. Chapter 10

When Nico blinked his eyes open, he was greeted by the familiar face of Annabeth Chase.

Hands pulled at him, and he was sitting up in no time. His back protested, and he tried to wipe off his face, but he just ended up getting blood all over the rest of it. A little voice inside of his head that sounded suspiciously like Will Solace pointed out that he was definitely losing too much blood. It was hard to focus, though.

Oh, also, why was Annabeth there?

“Nico, look at me,” Annabeth said sternly. “Gods, Percy, he’s not even lucid.”

Nico frowned at the name and lolled his head to the side. Sure enough, Percy Jackson was standing over him, and he looked to be completely out of his depth. Nico would have rolled his eyes if moving them didn’t make his skull feel like it was being split in half.

Nico concentrated on snapping out of his groggy haze, and soon enough, he was pushing Annabeth away and struggling to his feet.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, stumbling and falling directly into Percy.

Percy caught him easily, and Nico’s head spun.

“You don’t look fine,” Percy said. “What in Hades happened to you?”

Nico swallowed and blinked a few times. “I was...there was a half-blood kid...choir director...werewolves.”

“Werewolves?” Annabeth asked.

“I killed Lycaon when Reyna, Hedge, and I were in Portugal...Now every werewolf on earth wants to kill me.”

“Where’s the kid?”

“I had...I had Jules-Albert drive them to camp.”

“Who’s Jules-Albert?” Percy frowned.

Nico waved his hand dismissively and lost even more of his nonexistent balance. Percy caught him by the waist, and Nico nearly vomited right there. The world was spinning too much.

Nico summoned Jules-Albert, and Annabeth and Percy jumped back as he appeared with his car.

“That’s Jules-Albert,” Nico said. “Gift from my dad. French zombie chauffeur.”

Nico tried to right himself using Percy’s shoulders, but he just couldn’t stand on his own without falling over.

“Could one of you help me into the backseat so I can get back to camp?”

Annabeth scoffed. “There is _no_ way that we’re leaving you like this. We’re coming with.”

So Nico ended up squished between Percy and Annabeth as Jules-Albert drove them to Camp Half-Blood. If a monster attacked, Nico would probably cry. It was likely, though, because not only were Percy and Annabeth older, but all three of them were powerful, and Percy and Nico were sons of the Big Three. Nico just prayed to his father that they could get to camp safely. He was barely holding on as it was.

Along the way, Annabeth and Percy said that they had been walking down the street after getting ice cream when they saw Nico passed out and beaten up on the sidewalk. Nico told them about how he’d helped Florence and Carter escape and how he ended up killing all of the wolves and making it outside before he collapsed. Once the story had been told, though, Nico had leaned his head back and closed his eyes, listening to Percy and Annabeth talk about how they were handling their new school.

Nico had almost fallen asleep by the time Jules-Albert dropped them off. Percy and Annabeth each slung one of his arms over their shoulders and practically dragged him back. Nico couldn’t tell how long it was before he saw a familiar head of blonde hair and heard the telltale sound of someone running in flip flops.

“OH MY GODS, NICO!”

Nico gasped as he was ripped from Percy’s and Annabeth’s hold and instead wrapped up in a firm hug. Will smelled like sunshine and antiseptic, and it was comforting, so Nico nuzzled his face against Will’s throat.

“I hate you, Nico di Angelo. My gods, _never_ do that again, you hear me? Florence and Carter came back alone, and everyone thought you were dead...I swear, if you _ever_ scare me like that again, I’ll kill you.”

Nico hummed in acknowledgment, but his vision started getting spotty, and his body felt like it weighed five tons. Maybe now that he knew he was safe, his body was ready to give up. It sure felt like that.

Regardless, he faded out of consciousness as Will called his name.


	11. Chapter 11

Soul-marks were funny things. They represented someone’s soulmate in various ways. Sometimes, they were difficult to interpret, but there was always a sure way to know whether or not a person was one’s soulmate, and that was by touching their mark. When a person’s soulmate touched their mark, a rush of happiness, comfort, and pleasure shot through them. It usually became less intense as a person got used to it, but not always.

That was what Nico swore he felt when he woke up at one point. There were warm fingers dragging along his bare shoulder blade, right on his mark, and it felt like absolute euphoria. Nico had never felt so nice.

“Feels good,” Nico mumbled, nuzzling his face into the pillow beneath his head and trying to move closer to the hand on his back.

The fingers briefly paused, and then there was a soft pressure right beside them but still on his mark. It felt like a small kiss, and it brought the same pleasant feeling as the fingers did. Nico smiled.

“Go back to sleep, my darling,” a soothing voice whispered. “You could use some more rest.”

That was all Nico needed to fall back asleep.

When Nico woke up the second time, he was alone, and the last thing he could remember was fainting in Will’s arms. He looked around and confirmed that he was on a bed in the infirmary. He was lying on his stomach, and he didn’t have a shirt on, but a blanket was pulled over his shoulders. He supposed that it made sense, though. He vividly remembered just how much the scratch across his back had burned, so it must have been deep.

Nico shifted slowly until he was sitting up, and he wrapped the blanket back around himself as he did so. His back was still hurting, but he could move a lot easier now. There were cuts all over his arms and legs that still stung a bit, but it was only a minor inconvenience. He would be able to move around a lot easier than before.

Nico was snapped out of his thoughts as Will entered. He had two takeout containers, a bottle of water, and a bottle of Gatorade in his hands. Nico frowned at the sight of how Will’s shoulders hung low, as if he had a huge weight on his back. It didn’t look right, and it worried Nico beyond belief.

When Will looked over, he offered a weak smile. Nico couldn’t smile back, though, not when Will looked so worn down. He looked at least six years older than he really was. Usually, Will didn’t let stress get to him, at least not around other people, but he looked so drained. It didn’t seem right.

“Hey, I see you’re awake,” Will said. “I got some breakfast to go so we could eat together.”

So that was what they did.

Nico couldn’t help but think that his food tasted like cardboard, but he still ate it just so he could appease Will. Will, himself, didn’t look that enthusiastic about eating either.

“Did Carter and Florence get back okay?” Nico asked after the silence had stretched on for a while.

Will nodded. “They were pretty shaken up—especially Carter—but they were okay. Turns out Carter’s my brother.”

Nico nodded but didn’t say anything, and Will looked at him sadly. Nico hated when Will was sad. He just wanted the boy to be nothing but happy for the rest of time. That was what Will deserved.

“I was really scared,” Will ended up saying after a moment. “It was hours before you got back, and the way Florence told it...Everyone thought you were dead, and I...I need you. I can’t have you dying on me.”

Nico gave a weak smile. “Come on, it’s going to take a lot more than thirteen werewolves to kill me.”

Will nodded, and it looked like he was having an internal battle for a moment, but then he reached out and grabbed Nico’s hand. The butterflies were back in Nico’s stomach, and his heart skipped a beat. Will laced their fingers together, and it felt so nice.

Will took a deep breath. “I thought I lost you, and it made me realize...life is too short. I have something that I need to tell you.”

“Okay,” Nico said, frowning in confusion. “You can tell me.”

“Well,” Will said, licking his lips. “Don’t freak out, but...we’re soulmates.”

Nico’s entire body just _stopped_. He stopped breathing, stopped thinking...Everything within him froze. What was Will saying? Nico must’ve misunderstood. There was no way that Will was saying what Nico thought he was saying.

“What?”

Will sighed and let go of Nico’s hand as well as moved his food to the side before he stood. Nico felt his face heat up as Will started taking his shirt off. Nico had never seen Will shirtless, and the sight was a shocking one; a shirtless Will was even more attractive. Will wasn’t like Jason or Frank with packed muscle and broad shoulders. Instead, he was lithe and athletic in build, and his skin was tan and covered in freckles. He had a bit of a farmer’s tan too, but what really stood out was something else.

Will’s soul-mark.

Will’s soul-mark was about the same size as Nico’s, but Will’s was on the left side, over his ribs and lower chest. It didn’t match Will’s coloring or aesthetic at all either. The mark was royal purple, and it was the image of a skull with shadowy wings. A serpent could be seen coming from behind the skull as well, and the word “love” was written beneath it in Ancient Greek, just like on Nico’s mark. Honestly, the mark was a little scary. Nico would have never guessed that Will’s mark would look like that.

Will grabbed Nico’s hand and gently held it close to himself. Nico could take a hint, so he reached out and touched the mark tenderly. Will’s eyes immediately snapped shut, and he sucked his stomach in a little.It was like he’d been shocked. Nico couldn’t believe what was happening.

“That day, when we fell off the dock together and you grabbed me, you...you touched it, and it felt like...like now, like everything was right in the world,” Will said. “I didn’t tell you right away because I didn’t know if you liked guys or liked _me_ , but I just needed to tell you now.”

Nico was sure that he _had_ to be dreaming. This was impossible. There were no gay soulmates. He was destined to end up with some girl he could never love, not this. He wasn’t supposed to be happy. He wasn’t supposed to to get the things he wanted. It just wasn’t right.

Nico realized that his hand was still on Will’s mark, so he quickly pulled away. He hated it, but he could feel tears well up in his eyes. It felt like he was stripped bare for all the world to see.

“You’re pulling a prank on me,” Nico concluded aloud. “You found out about my feelings, and you’re just rubbing it in my face—“

“Gods, Nico, why would I do that?” Will exclaimed in what could have been exasperation, desperation, or a little bit of both. “If you don’t believe me, let me touch your shoulder.”

Nico suddenly remembered something that felt like a dream. He remembered warm fingers and lips caressing his mark. He remembered the feeling of utter safety and happiness that it had given him. There was no way...Could that have been real?

“But we’re both boys. That’s not...things don’t work like that.”

Will sighed. “But they _do_ , Nico. You were born in the late twenties, and people really sucked back then, so I don’t expect you to fully understand it, but it’s possible. They aren’t as common as heterosexual soulmate pairings, but homosexual soulmate pairings _do_ exist...and _we’re_ one of them. Just let me prove it to you.”

Nico was still so unsure, and he wasn’t fully certain that this wasn’t a dream, but he couldn’t resist Will when he was looking at him like that. Will looked nearly frantic.

Nico moved his food and unwound the blanket from his shoulders. He kept his head down, though. He couldn’t look at Will. He couldn’t let himself be that vulnerable.

“You can touch.”

Will took a few steps towards Nico, and he put a hand on his shoulder. It wasn’t over the mark yet, but it was probably just meant to be reassuring. It wasn’t, and Nico had to hold his breath as it moved down.

Nico felt that same rush of pleasure and ease that he remembered, and he couldn’t help but sob at the feeling because Will _hadn’t_ been lying to him. They were soulmates. Nico had a male soulmate, one that he already cared for. He didn’t have to spend his life tied to some girl that he could never love. He was tied to Will. Will was his _soulmate_.

Will ended up hugging Nico as he cried, and Nico held on tightly. He couldn’t let Will go. If he did, Will would slip away forever, and Nico would be alone and hopeless again. He needed Will to hold him together.

“I, I had a crush on Percy for a few years starting when I was ten,” Nico admitted through horribly hitched breaths. “And I...I thought I was _sick_. Ever since then, I just thought that something was wrong with me. I thought I was broken, and...and I’ve felt things for you ever since you grabbed by hands before the battle, but I was so terrified. I thought I would have to end up with some _girl_.”

Will held on tightly and rocked Nico back and forth a little. “Nothing is wrong with you, I promise...I’m sorry that you felt that way for so long, but you’re okay now. I’ve got you, and we’re meant to be together...We’re _soulmates_ , Nico. Doesn’t that make you happy?”

Happy wasn’t a big enough word to describe what Nico was feeling. He was overwhelmed with relief and euphoria, to the point where he just couldn’t stop crying.

This was the best day of his life. 


	12. Chapter 12

Nico left the infirmary right in time for lunch, and he walked with Will towards the Apollo cabin. He was still a little sore, but it was nothing that he couldn’t deal with. Plus, Will’s hand was a constant against the small of Nico’s back, and that felt way too good for Nico to complain about anything. He was just really happy.

When Will opened the door, Nico was able to see the interior of the Apollo cabin. A few of the campers were singing a song and playing instruments, and one was sharpening their arrows, but Nico’s attention was drawn towards a familiar head of brown hair.

And, before Nico could even blink, he was being sent backwards by the force of a human cannonball. Will caught him before he could fall, but Nico was still alarmed as Carter hugged him. All that he could do was gently put his hands on Carter’s back.

“I thought you died,” Carter gasped. “Thank you for saving me, Nico. You’re my hero.”

Nico looked over at Will, eyes wide. Will just smiled, though.

“It’s no issue. I was just doing the right thing,” Nico awkwardly said, rubbing the boy’s shoulders encouragingly. Carter was only three years younger than Nico, but he just felt like a little kid to him. Then again, Nico was an old soul.

Carter pulled away, and Will ruffled his hair before gathering the rest of the cabin. Nico thought that the way Will was able to gather everyone and lead them was impressive. Will was such a natural leader.

“Okay, everyone, due to special circumstances, Nico will now be sitting at the Apollo table during meals,” Will announced.

A couple people actually cheered at that, and Nico laughed. Will reached out to grab Nico’s hand too. It was nice. It honestly felt like perfection. In this moment, nothing could bring Nico down. He had just found out that Will was his soulmate, and he had a community of people that accepted him and cared about him. It was everything that he’d thought he couldn’t have.

On the way to the dining pavilion, Percy and Annabeth caught up with them, and they looked worried.

“How are you doing, Nico?” Annabeth asked.

Nico smiled and snuck a glance over at Will. “I’m good. No longer about to die of blood loss.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Percy laughed nervously. “It was so weird seeing you like that, though, man...You were like a rag doll.”

Will hummed, looking Nico up and down. “That reminds me: you should still try to gain more weight. I don’t think you gained all of it back yet.”

“It’s been like four months,” Nico sighed. “I can’t exactly gain that much weight when I spent half of that time fighting on the Argo II.”

“Jason said that a single grape was your biggest meal that entire time, Neeks,” Will hummed. “You weren’t exactly _trying_.”

“Well, I hated myself, thought everyone hated _me_ , and didn’t exactly have anything to live for, so why would I try?”

Nico only realized just what he had said when Percy’s and Annabeth’s faces fell. Around Will, Nico felt really free with his words, but he’d forgotten that Percy and Annabeth weren’t aware of just exactly what had been going through Nico’s mind all these years. He’d started opening up to Will about it, but no one else knew.

“And we need to work on that too...Just remember that people _do_ care about you,” Will hummed, squeezing Nico’s hand. Nico smiled shyly at him, and Will smiled back.

“Yeah,” Percy said, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “We care about you, dude. All of us...us, Reyna, and the rest of the Seven.”

Nico scrunched up his face, and Will smirked at his discomfort. It felt strange to talk about emotional things with Percy, though. Nico’s relationship with Percy had always been rocky, and it was still a bit awkward. It was reassuring to think that Percy cared about him, though, regardless of all of the strange and embarrassing things that he’d seen Nico do in the past.

“So,” Annabeth hummed, looking back and forth between Will’s and Nico’s faces and their joined hands, “any... _new developments_ to tell us about?”

Nico bit his lip and looked over at Will. In turn, Will let go of Nico’s hand and slung and arm over his shoulders, pressing their faces together briefly. Nico’s heart was having palpitations as he did that.

“We’re soulmates,” Will said. He seemed so giddy, and it made Nico feel good.

Percy looked shocked, but Annabeth looked like she had suspected it all along. Maybe she had. Either way, she definitely looked happy, so that was good.

“That’s great!” she cheered. “I’m so happy for you two!”

Percy still looked like the information wasn’t quite computing in his head. Honestly, Nico wasn’t that surprised, though. Sometimes, it took a few seconds for things to load properly in Percy’s brain.

Finally, after a few more seconds, it seemed to click.

“Oh, so _that’s_ your type.”

Nico sighed loudly enough to be heard at Camp Jupiter.


	13. Chapter 13

Percy and Annabeth had told Piper and Jason that Nico had met his soulmate, and Nico had told Hazel, Reyna, and Frank. He’d thought that it would only be appropriate to reveal who it was in person, though, especially with Hazel.

Nico was a little scared about what Hazel’s reaction would be. It wasn’t like with him. He could _feel_ what happened when Will touched his mark, but Hazel couldn’t. She could only see the outward reaction. It would be harder to convince her that it was legitimate, but Nico hoped that he didn’t have to. He hoped that she would just believe them right away and be happy that he found his soulmate.

Everyone had planned to meet up in New Rome. Will had been a little nervous to leave the infirmary behind, but he’d also been adamant about supporting Nico. Plus, it would only be for a few days, and Nico could shadow-travel them back if there were any emergencies. Will had agreed to go to New Rome in order to be formally introduced to everyone as Nico’s soulmate, but Nico could see that he felt a little guilty. He probably would no matter what.

Will had vetoed Nico’s idea of shadow-traveling them, Percy, and Annabeth all the way to California, so instead, Will drove them in a chariot pulled by pegasi. They would use the chariot to get to that general area of California, but Nico still felt as though it was the best idea to shadow-travel the rest of the way. That way, he could prepare everyone _before_ they saw Will.

Along the way, Nico stood next to Will and rested his head on Will’s shoulder, watching the world move around them. He vaguely worried about him and Percy being shot out of the sky by lightning, but he decided to only focus on things that he could control. He thought over what to say to everyone again and again in his head, but nothing sounded right. It made him anxious.

“I can practically hear you stressing out internally,” Will sighed, leaning his head on Nico’s. “Don’t worry. Whatever happens, you have me, Percy, and Annabeth.”

“Yeah,” Percy said from behind them, “and I _really_ can’t see any of them being homophobic. Plus, Jason and Reyna already know about you.”

Nico let out a breath. “I can’t help but worry.”

Will nuzzled into Nico a little, and it was nice, but it still wasn’t enough to distract him from what was to come.

“You know,” Will hummed, “when my father was with Hyacinthus, he would fly him all over the world on a chariot pulled by swans. I know this is pulled by pegasi, but it’s at least _similar_.”

“Are you trying to make this romantic? Really?”

Will rolled his eyes. “I should just go find someone who will appreciate me and my cheesy romantic monologues.”

Nico wrapped both of his arms around Will’s waist and hid his face, suddenly a little worried that he’d actually offended his boyfriend. It was stupid, but it was probably because he was worried about everything else too. His brain was fried, and he hated to admit that it made him a bit more sensitive than he usually was.

“Please don’t,” he said softly.

Will glanced at Nico for a second, and the look in his eyes was enough to reassure Nico that everything was okay.

“Never,” Will promised. “You’re stuck with me for the rest of time.”

Nico smiled. He could get behind that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> —SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER—
> 
> Okay, I’m just going to warn you all that there is some homophobia expressed in this chapter by a certain character. I would just like to say that I love this character, and I’m not trying to bash them.

Jason hugged Nico the second they caught each other’s eye, and Nico just sighed. Piper gave him a smaller hug, Hazel gave him one that was in between, Frank didn’t hug him, and Nico was actually the one to hug Reyna. Nico’s and Reyna’s hug lasted the longest, for they had really missed each other. Hugging Reyna just felt so nice too. It made Nico feel safe and protected.

Once everyone had said hello to everyone else, Hazel finally cut to the chase.

“Where’s your soulmate? You said you’d bring her!”

Nico gulped at that, and he took a deep breath. No matter what, he had Will, he had Percy’s and Annabeth’s support, and he had his own community back at Camp Half-Blood. He would be okay. He just had to do this.

“So...this is going to be a bit unexpected for most of you, but please just keep an open mind,” Nico said.

As soon as everyone nodded, Nico motioned for them to wait and then turned the corner and approached where Will was waiting. Will smiled when he saw him.

“Okay,” Nico breathed. “Gods, I’m nervous.”

Will put a hand on Nico’s cheek and tenderly traced the scab that was still there from the werewolf attack. “You’ve got this, di Angelo. I believe in you.”

Nico nodded and took one more deep breath before grabbing Will’s hand and dragging him along. He was making this a bigger deal than it needed to be. He would be fine. Everyone would probably just be happy for him.

When Nico pulled Will out from hiding, there were varied reactions. Piper, Frank, and Hazel looked shocked while Jason and Reyna looked unbelievably happy.

“Um, everyone, this is my soulmate, Will Solace, son of Apollo.”

“No way!” Jason gasped. “Will Solace?! Your soulmate is Will Solace?!”

Nico gave him an awkward smile. “Surprise?”

Jason ended up giving Nico another bone-crushing hug, and he gave one to Will too. Will seemed to find it hilarious and just laughed as Jason squeezed the life out of him.

As Jason hugged Will, Piper pulled Nico into a very emotional embrace.

“Cupid told Jason you like guys. That was why you two were acting weird for the rest of the quest, wasn’t it?” she asked.

Nico nodded. “I had to admit that I used to have a crush on Percy in order to get the scepter.”

Piper squeezed Nico tighter, and it was actually nice. Piper had always been a fairly nice person to be around. She was usually kind and always tried to keep the peace. She also wasn’t obnoxious or anything. Nico thought that she was very easy to like, and her support was nice.

“I’m happy for you, okay? Don’t let anyone tell you that this is wrong...I’m happy that you found him.”

Nico was touched, and he nodded as Piper pulled away. She smiled as she also gave Will a good squeeze, and after she pulled away, Reyna approached.

“Hello, Will, I’m Reyna,” she said respectfully. “Nico has come to be very important to me, so if you hurt him, I’m obligated to kill you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Reyna, really?”

Will just shrugged, though, and held out a hand for her to shake. “Sounds like a plan. Nice to meet you properly.”

“Are you at Camp Half-Blood?” Frank asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“I was mostly in the infirmary,” Will answered. “I’ve been at Camp Half-Blood a long time. I’m actually the head counselor of the Apollo cabin.”

“You were in the infirmary? Were you injured?”

Nico and Will both shook their heads, and Nico replied. “Will’s a healer, the best one Camp Half-Blood has seen in centuries.”

Will elbowed Nico, but Nico just caught his arm and held onto it. A smile was threatening to stretch across his face, but then he caught someone’s eye.

Hazel.

Hazel didn’t necessarily look happy nor unhappy. She merely looked confused. Nico supposed that that was better than her being angry.

“Hazel?”

Hazel shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand. You’re dating another boy?”

Nico winced a little but nodded. “I am, Hazel...I’m gay, and me and Will are soulmates.”

“But that’s not possible. You can’t be soulmates.”

Nico squeezed Will’s arm. This is exactly what he’d feared. Hazel didn’t understand. How could she?

“Hazel, we are,” Will said. “I know that you grew up in an era where this kind of thing was shameful, and not even Nico believed that it was true at first, but we _are_ soulmates.”

“Are you telling me that _you_ coerced him into this?” Hazel said, eyes narrowing.

Oh no, this was going to be bad.

“Hazel, he didn’t ‘coerce’ me into anything,” Nico said sternly. “I’m not interested in women. I had a crush on Percy for years, and I’ve been pining after Will since the war against Gaea. And then we found out that we’re soulmates. Neither of us decided that. We like it, but we didn’t choose it, just like you and Frank never chose to be soulmates. Neither did Jason and Piper or Annabeth and Percy. That’s just how things ended up.”

Hazel shook her head. “What me and Frank have is special. It’s blessed by the gods, but that...anything between two boys is just unnatural...It’s sick, Nico. Once you find the right girl, you’ll see. You shouldn’t just give up on finding who the gods chose for you.”

Nico averted his eyes towards the ground and let go of Will’s arm. Something deep inside of him cried out in pain. His chest felt hollow, and tears were threatening to escape. He needed to leave.

“I...I need a minute.”

Nico turned to leave, but then Will caught his arm. He looked concerned when Nico glanced back at him.

“I’ll come with you,” he said.

Nico let him, and no one said anything once they started walking away. They walked together until they found a nice-looking fountain. No one was around, so Nico sat on the edge. Will sat next to him but didn’t say anything. Nico pulled one of his knees up and rested his cheek against it.

The two of them sat in silence for a bit, but then Nico started talking.

“My sister, Bianca, joined the Hunters of Artemis because she said she was sick of constantly being a big sister,” Nico softly admitted. “Ever since then, I’ve always thought about what I could’ve changed about myself to make her stay. Maybe if I hadn’t been so obsessed with Mythomagic or if I hadn’t been so excitable and rowdy all the time...maybe then she wouldn’t have gotten sick of being my sister.”

Nico got a bit choked up, but he cleared his throat and pushed through. “I love her, so much, Will. _Still_. She...back then, she was everything I had, and nothing meant _anything_ without her. Nothing I was passionate about gave me joy after she died, and I blame myself for that every second of every day...I pretended that I blamed Percy, but that was all an act. There’s no one to blame but _me_...and now, with Hazel...I’m just the kind of brother no one wants to have, huh?”

Will shook his head and reached out to wipe some of Nico’s tears away. The tears just kept falling anyways, but it was the thought that counted. Even through the tears, Will still caressed Nico’s face like it was something precious. The action was comforting.

“Nico, you didn’t make Bianca become a huntress,” Will said. “She chose that, herself. And you were ten. Ten-year-old boys need attention. Maybe she felt stressed out because of the fact that you two didn’t have any parents to take care of you, but being dependent on your older sibling isn’t a bad thing. My younger siblings rely a lot on us older siblings, especially me. Most of them don’t have parents, and they’re lonely, so we care for them. I don’t blame them for depending on me because it makes sense. Personally, I don’t agree with Bianca’s reasoning behind her choice, but no matter what, her death wasn’t your fault. You were a ten-year-old boy with no memories and no home. All you _had_ was Bianca, and that doesn’t make you a bad brother. You did _nothing_ wrong. And Hazel...Gods, I know she’s your little sister, but I just want to hit her for saying that to you. No girl is going to come along and make you straight, and there’s nothing wrong with being gay, _nothing_...What you feel for me, does that feel wrong?”

Nico shook his head. Whenever he was with Will, everything felt right in the world. Everything was bright, happy, and wonderful. Nico smiled and laughed more than he did with any other person, and for the first time in years, he was actually starting to feel happy. He was starting to feel comfortable in his own skin. He was starting to feel less like a burden and more like someone who was important to people. How could something that made Nico feel so happy and _himself_ be wrong?

“That’s because it isn’t wrong,” Will concluded, wiping more of Nico’s tears away. “We’re _literally_ meant to be together, and even if we weren’t, I’d still care for you. I’d still want to be with you because you make me feel like I’ve never felt before.”

It was at that moment that Nico broke down fully. Will pulled him close and rubbed his back softly. He even reached beneath Nico’s shirt to gently run his fingers along Nico’s soul-mark. It helped, but Nico still just needed to cry, and he was pretty sure that Will understood that because Will let him. Will whispered little encouragements into his ear and ran his fingers both over his back and through his hair. Not for the first time, Nico thought that Will’s last name was all too fitting for him, for he was the human embodiment of comfort and _solace_.

Nico pulled away and wiped at his face after a while, wincing a little at the wet spots he could see on Will’s shirt.

“Sorry about your shirt.”

Will gave him a slightly amused smile. “You realize that you’ve bled on me countless times, right? A little bit of snot and tears is nothing.”

“I’ve bled on you twice,” Nico argued. “That’s not countless.”

“The last time counts as, like, five hundred times. Nearly your entire body was covered in blood.”

Nico rolled his eyes but didn’t reply. He just finished wiping off his face and watched the fountain a bit. He could feel Will watching him.

“So what do you want to do now?” Will asked. “We could stay here for a while, we could go back and talk with everyone, we could yell at Hazel, we could go back to camp...It’s up to you, what happens next. I’ll do whatever you need me to.”

Nico sighed. “I don’t know. I just...I want to be close with all of them. We all almost died together, for gods’ sake. It’s just _awkward_. And now, it’s going to be worse, and my own sister thinks I’m _sick_...I want to go and spend time with them, but at the same time, I feel like it will just make me feel even worse about myself.”

Will hummed. “Do you want to just stay here for a little bit, then?”

“I think so.”


	15. Chapter 15

Will and Nico sat on the edge of the fountain and talked for a while. Eventually, Nico’s mood lifted a bit, and they were able to have a nice conversation. Nico just tried to focus on the feeling of being in a nice place and spending time with his soulmate. He let himself get lost in how gorgeous Will looked in the light of the sun and how absolutely ridiculous Will was in general. It was familiar and helped him calm down.

At one point, Nico started telling a story from when he’d been in New Rome in the past. It was a long story, but he was getting a little excited about it, and he was gesticulating even more than usual, so much that even _he_ found it a bit ridiculous. Will didn’t pick on him or judge him, though. Instead, Will looked over at him with his eyes sparkling in fondness. He listened attentively, all with a genuine smile on his face, and Nico thought that he was beautiful like that.

“You’re adorable, you know?” Will said once the story was through.

Nico felt butterflies inside of him, but on the outside, he just awkwardly laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one that thinks that. I mean, I’m Nico di Angelo. If anything, everyone else just thinks I’m a creep.”

“They just don’t know you like I do,” Will hummed. “If they did, everyone would be cooing over you constantly.”

“ _You_ don’t coo over me constantly.”

“Not out loud.”

Nico shook his head a bit, but he smiled. Will made him so happy.

“You know,” Nico eventually said, “I’ve realized something.”

“Oh?”

Nico nodded and avoided looking into Will’s eyes.

“I realized that we haven’t kissed each other yet.”

Will didn’t respond right away, and Nico immediately panicked. He was really new to these kinds of things, but he’d sworn that the moment had been appropriate for that. Maybe it hadn’t been, though. Maybe the moment was all wrong. Maybe Will didn’t even _want_ to kiss him.

“Uh, sorry. Just forget I said anything,” Nico said.

Nico was silently berating himself for his mistake, but then Will shifted. Nico thought that he was moving away at first, but he was actually moving closer, so close that his knee was pressed against Nico’s. After he was close enough to make Nico’s heart race, Will brought a hand up to Nico’s face. Gently, Will lifted Nico’s chin until they were looking into each other’s eyes again. Will was so close, and he looked so serious.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Will asked.

Nico gulped and nodded. “Yeah...I do.”

Will smiled at him. “Close your eyes.”

Nico’s eyes slammed shut immediately, and he found that it was difficult to breathe. Will held his head in place. His touch was firm but still a little shaky. He’d never done this before either.

Nico couldn’t get enough air into his lungs as he felt Will’s breath against his face. Will was getting so close, and Nico didn’t know what to do, so he just reached out a hand and grabbed onto Will’s thigh. It helped ground him.

“It’s okay,” Will ended up whispering almost _against_ Nico’s lips. “Just relax.”

Nico took in a huge gulp of air about a millisecond before Will pressed their lips together. They didn’t move for a second, and Nico was too anxious to really focus on anything, but then he felt a sudden, foreign sense of confidence surge through him. He tilted his head further to the side, cupped the back of Will’s head, and pressed in deeper, moving his lips in a way that he didn’t understand. He didn’t know how he was doing this, but he didn’t question it as Will responded with equal fervor. They briefly had to pull away for air, but then Will went right back in and stole the breath from Nico’s lungs yet again. When Will stuck his tongue in Nico’s mouth, Nico nearly had a heart attack. He knew that first kisses weren’t supposed to be so easy and good, but it was. The kiss was amazing, and it made Nico feel like he was being set ablaze with affection and desire. He never wanted to part from Will.

Eventually, though, they both _really_ needed to breathe, so they pulled their lips apart, panting and resting their foreheads together. Nico’s mind was foggy, and he was so confused. What had just _happened_? If kissing always felt like that, why wasn’t everyone spending every second of every day kissing someone?

“Wow,” Will exhaled eventually. “Just...wow.”

Nico licked his lips. “Yeah.”

Then, there was a new voice. “Did you boys enjoy your gift?”

Nico nearly fell into the fountain in surprise. He and Will jumped apart, and the voice giggled in reply. When Nico looked over, he saw a beautiful woman, one with fair but healthy skin and eyes that shifted from warm brown to sapphire blue and back again. Her hair was dark, but it didn’t make her look even more pale like Nico’s hair did with him. Instead, her hair seemed to be the perfect shade of onyx for her skin tone. The features on her face shifted, but they were always soft and doll-like, and her skin was void of any blemish—any freckle, scar, or bruise. Nico envied her. She was the kind of person that men fell for, the female version of Nico’s idealized self. Nico hated the idea that Will could see her too. He felt as though it would make Will realize just how unattractive Nico really was.

“Who...who are you?” Will sputtered.

Nico had a pretty good guess as to who this woman was.

“Silly boy. _I_ am the goddess of love.”

“Lady Aphrodite,” Nico said respectfully, even if merely looking at her filled him with uncontrollable envy.

She smiled and sat directly in between the couple. Nico was uncomfortable.

“Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m here,” Aphrodite hummed. “I was just going through my day as usual when I sensed a very sad heartbreak coming from this area. So I come by, and I realize that it was from _you_ , Nico di Angelo. Heartbreak is such a nasty thing, isn’t it?”

Nico just blinked a little in reply, but the goddess continued.

“So, I stuck around just to watch you two. I haven’t been paying much attention to your love story, but my are you two both such cuties! Of course, you’re also painfully awkward, but that’s what I’m for. I figured that I would give you two that gift in order to lift your spirits and spur you along. Seriously, how can you _bear_ this awkwardness? It makes me cringe.”

Nico frowned. “Gift? What gift?”

“That spectacular first kiss, of course!” Aphrodite said as if it was obvious. “I thought you both could use a good kiss to cheer you up.”

Nico’s face heated up, but he didn’t say anything. It made sense, though. Nico definitely didn’t know how to kiss, so that amazing kiss that he’d just shared with Will couldn’t have possibly been their doing. It was a bit embarrassing to think about Aphrodite watching and _assisting_ them as they kissed, but it probably wasn’t _actually_ a big deal. It was her area of expertise. She was literally the goddess of love and romance.

“Uh, thank you,” Will said. Nico noticed a bit of pink on his cheeks and bit his lip. It wasn’t often that he saw Will flustered, but he thought it was really cute.

Aphrodite smirked at Nico. There was no doubt that she knew Nico was admiring his boyfriend. He was allowed to, though. Him and Will were soulmates. He could freely think these things about him. That was what boyfriends did.

“You’re welcome, Will,” Aphrodite said before snapping her fingers as if she had forgotten something. “Oh, I almost forgot.”

Aphrodite snapped her fingers again, and suddenly Reyna, Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel appeared before them. They all looked shocked, and Nico was immediately thrust out of the happy, romantic haze that Will had put him in. Anxiety, shame, and fear overwhelmed him, and he really wished that Aphrodite wasn’t in between him and Will because he really wanted to hold Will’s hand.

“Lady Venus,” Reyna said. Her, Frank, and Hazel bowed respectfully.

Piper frowned. “What are you doing here, Mom?”

Aphrodite stood, and as soon as she did, Will scooted closer to Nico. Nico grabbed Will’s hand with both of his own and just looked at it. If he looked anywhere else, his emotions would get out of control again, and he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to cry in front of everyone.

“Oh, hello, my dear daughter,” Aphrodite greeted. “I’m here for multiple reasons. Sometimes I get curious, so I follow a stray burst of romance or, in this case, a rather emotional heartbreak.”

Nico could feel people looking at him, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t want these people to give him this type of attention.

“Heartbreak?” Hazel asked. “Who’s heart was broken?”

Aphrodite’s tone changed. She became less happy and more displeased. It was like she was disappointed or angry with Hazel.

“Nico‘s,” Aphrodite answered. “And you should have known that, Hazel Levesque. _You_ were the one to break it.”

Nico wanted to leave, for this was so awkward and stressful. He knew, though, that Aphrodite would probably just bring everyone to him again if he shadow-traveled away. He had to stay. He had to let the goddess of love bring deep insecurities that he had to attention. It felt wrong.

“What...what do you mean?”

Aphrodite sighed. “My specialty may be romance, but there are other kinds of love, and those kinds can also cause heartbreak just as strong. You broke your brother’s heart, Hazel. I would think that you would know that, considering that you’re such an expert on love that you can tell two people whether or not they’re soulmates.”

Nico suddenly understood why Aphrodite was so angry. Aphrodite and Hera had been the goddesses to create soulmates and soul-marks. The concept of soulmates was a big part of love, and Hazel had ended up accidentally insulting it by saying that Nico and Will couldn’t be soulmates. Aphrodite was offended.

There was an awkward silence, but then Aphrodite sighed. “I do particularly care for you demigods, considering all that you have done for the gods and how capable you all are, so I decided to bend some of the rules about meddling with mortals and come and fix this myself.”

Nico was nervous, but Aphrodite motioned for him and Will to stand. Nico let go of Will’s hand and instead clutched at his arm. Will held his other hand over Nico’s as a form of comfort.

“I placed the soul-marks on every person, with help from Hera. That means that I placed the soul-marks on Nico and Will as well.”

Aphrodite waved her hand, and two images appeared out of thin air: Nico’s and Will’s soul-marks. Will actually pulled his shirt up a bit and checked to make sure his mark was still there. If Nico wasn’t so anxious, he would have rolled his eyes and made fun of that.

“Here, we have Will Solace’s mark, located on his left ribcage,” Aphrodite hummed, gesturing towards the dark purple image floating in the air. “Now, this mark is based mostly on the parentage of his soulmate. The serpent is one of the sacred animals of Hades, and the skull as well as its purple color also is representative of Hades. The Greek text is an indicator that his soulmate is a Greek demigod, and the shadowy wings are markers of the situation surrounding the first spark of mutual attraction.”

Nico looked over at Will. It was strange to hear about how he was represented on Will’s mark, right from Aphrodite at that. It was reassuring as well, though.

Aphrodite motioned towards the other mark then, and it shimmered in that same way that it always did on Nico’s back. Nico had never seen a soul-mark as brightas his own, and that was a bit ironic, considering who he was.

“Now, we have the soul-mark of Nico di Angelo, located on his right shoulder blade,” Aphrodite continued on. “One of my brightest marks. The Greek word below is there to both represent that his soulmate is a Greek demigod and also to match his soulmate’s mark. The lyre symbolizes his soulmate’s parentage as a child of Apollo, and the sun symbolizes both Apollo and how Nico views his soulmate mentally and emotionally. The golden color is representative of his soulmate’s natural hair color, and the distinctive shine and glitter is a symbol of one of Nico’s favorite aspects of his soulmate...Is this obvious enough yet?”

Will smiled a little at Nico, and Nico was a bit flustered. Will was probably going to ask about that “favorite aspect” comment eventually. Nico just hoped that Will didn’t find it weird.

“But they’re both boys,” Hazel said.

Nico frowned deeply. “It’s not mutually exclusive,” he said. “I...I’m gay, Hazel. I am, and I have been for my entire life. I’ve never been attracted to girls, and the two crushes I’ve had in my life have been on Percy and Will...I thought that I was sick and messed up for a long time, but I’m not. There may be a lot of things wrong with me, but this isn’t one of them.”

Nico felt a little like he was going to cry again after saying that, but it had needed to be said. He’d needed to tell her that.

“As attraction is my area of expertise, I have to agree with Nico,” Aphrodite said. “Hera and I have paired many homosexual couples together from birth, and Will and Nico are one of them. They’re soulmates.”

Hearing the goddess of love confirm that Will was his soulmate comforted Nico. They really were meant to be together. He knew that already, but it was ineffably reassuring to have  _Aphrodite_ agree with him on that. It seemed like Will felt similarly, though, because he had a smile on his face that looked very pleased, and his eyes were bright as he looked at Nico.

Nico looked over at Hazel, and she looked confused, a little sad, and maybe a bit angry all at once. It was hard to look at her without thinking about how she saw him. He really loved Hazel, but did she still care for him?

Did Hazel still love him, even though he was gay?


	16. Chapter 16

Nico and Hazel sat together in a coffee shop. They’d been left alone to talk about all of the new developments. Hazel had to leave soon, so their conversation couldn’t be long.

“So, you’re gay.”

Nico nodded.

“And you’re in a relationship with the boy you previously introduced to me as your best friend.”

Nico nodded again.

“And, according to Venus, he’s your soulmate.”

Nico nodded a third time.

Hazel sighed and took a swig of her hot chocolate. Nico, himself, had a strawberry-banana smoothie, and he sucked on his straw absentmindedly. Below the table, he was fiddling with a small piece of a bandage from the infirmary back at Camp Half-Blood. He’d picked up the habit from Will, and it was a good way to help him deal with both his ADHD and his anxiety.

Hazel put her drink on the table. “Honestly, Nico, I just...I can’t accept this...not right now. I mean, for my entire life, I’ve been told that this was wrong, and it just doesn’t _seem_ right.”

“Don’t you want me to be happy?” Nico softly asked. “Will makes me happy.”

“Sometimes, one type of happiness isn’t the right kind, though,” Hazel said. “I know what Venus said, but I just can’t imagine that being true. Why would there be same-sex soulmates? You can’t even have kids.”

“I don’t want kids,” Nico said. “Even if we wanted them one day, though, we could adopt. And it’s Venus, Hazel. She’s the one who gave me my mark.”

“Maybe she made a mistake.”

Nico sighed and reached his hand over to grab Hazel’s. He’d done it many times before, but this time, she pulled her hand away as if his touch had burned. Nico’s stomach churned. Hazel didn’t want to touch him. He’d grown so close to Hazel, and yet his touch disgusted her. She thought that he was sick, so maybe she also thought it was contagious. Maybe she thought that one touch from Nico would corrupt her.

“Well, why don’t you just disown me as your brother right now then?” Nico spat, ineffably angered and hurt by the rejection. “Because nothing you say will ever convince me to leave Will. He makes me happier than I’ve ever been before, and if you’re really my sister, you’ll appreciate the fact that I have something to live for, but you obviously don’t, considering the fact that you can’t even _touch_ me.”

Hazel’s expression saddened, but Nico was too angry to deal with her. Plus, she had to leave anyways, so Nico just grabbed his smoothie and walked into the nearest shadow.

Nico appeared in the room that him, Percy, Annabeth, and Will had booked in the motel that had recently been erected in New Rome. Will was leaning against the headboard on the bed closest to the door, reading a magazine, when Nico appeared. Annabeth and Percy were watching the TV and cuddling on the other bed, but Percy fell off of the bed in surprise as soon as Nico appeared. Nico just kicked off his shoes and trudged over to the bed that Will was on, lying on the other side with a huff.

“Want some strawberry-banana smoothie?” Nico offered Will.

Will hummed and grabbed the smoothie. He took a sip and gave it back to Nico. He also put a hand on Nico’s neck and closed his eyes for a second, trying to sense anything amiss with his health.

“That’s good, and your lungs and head are agitated, but it’s nothing too bad. Also, we should grab a bite to eat soon...How did it go with Hazel?”

Nico sipped his smoothie idly and noticed Annabeth and Percy paying attention to the conversation. They had seemed a bit angry with Hazel before, and they probably wanted more information.

“Even after Aphrodite literally told her, to her face, she still can’t accept it. She didn’t even let me _touch her hand_. It’s like she thinks that I have some sort of contagious disease or something,” Nico said. Honestly, he just wanted to stop thinking about it.

“That’s messed up,” Percy said. “I can’t believe...I mean, this is _Hazel_.”

Nico just shrugged and offered Will another drink of his smoothie. A little of it got on the corner of Will’s mouth, and Nico wiped it off for him.

Will reached over to run his hand through Nico’s hair absentmindedly, twirling random strands around his fingers as he went. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m just tired,” Nico mumbled. “I’m out of emotional capacity for the day.”

Will hummed, and soon everyone went back to doing their own things. Annabeth and Percy watched TV, Will looked through his magazine, and Nico just sat in thought. Eventually the smoothie was gone, and Nico had to get up to throw the cup away. Once he returned to the bed, he decided to lie down on it upside-down. Will’s hand eventually drifted to his calf and stayed there. It was comfortable and casual, but Nico didn’t enjoy it as much as he would any other day. He was upset, but he didn’t have the energy to break down again.

After however long Nico spent lying down and staring at the ceiling, letting his thoughts roam wherever they wanted, he registered that Will was shaking his leg. When Nico sat up a little and looked at him, Will was smirking at him.

“Back on earth, space cadet?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut up.“

Will chuckled and started messing with Nico’s pant leg. “Fine...I just wanted to know if you wanted to go get some food with me.”

Nico was pretty hungry, but he didn’t particularly want to leave. He looked around the room and realized that Percy and Annabeth were nowhere to be found. He supposed that maybe he really _had_ been zoning out pretty hard.

“I’m hungry, but I don’t want to leave,” Nico sighed. “I guess I’ll just starve.”

“Drama queen. Would you get up for McDonald’s?”

Nico got out of bed and put his shoes on. “Sure, but we’re shadow-traveling. The closest one is outside of New Rome, a little ways into the city.”

“How do you know this?” Will chuckled as he slipped on his flip flops.

“You don’t even come close to understanding just exactly how much I love McDonald’s.”

Will laughed at that and grabbed Nico’s hand. In that moment, Nico was content.

He would never give this up, no matter what Hazel had to say about it.


	17. Chapter 17

Nico had always moved his hands a lot whenever he spoke, and sometimes, that could be an issue. Like when he was eating McDonald’s food on a bed and excitedly chatting with his boyfriend, his very full drink perched precariously in his lap.

When Nico spilled his drink, he managed to catch it. That way, it didn’t spill on the bed. It  _did_ , however, spill all over the front of his shirt. That was the issue.

Nico moved the drink and took off his shirt without thinking twice about it. It was only when he started dabbing at his sticky skin with the shirt that he realized what he’d done. He’d just taken off his shirt in front of Will. The thought made him nervous.

Will had seen his bare torso when he’d treated his injuries from the werewolf attack, but this was different. Nico wasn’t covered in blood this time, and there was no medical reason for him to be shirtless. Him and Will were alone in the room, and Nico had just taken off his shirt.

Nico had always been at least a little insecure over his skinny body, but now that he was covered in so many scars, he absolutely despised the sight of his own skin. After all of the fighting he had done, his skin was marred and imperfect. He didn’t like that fact, and he feared that Will felt the same. He knew that a lot of people liked clear and healthy skin, but Nico had so much scar tissue on his body. His skin was bumpy and covered in lines, not spotless and smooth.

He felt like all of his scars made him ugly.

Will ended up getting a wet wipe from the bag he’d brought with. He didn’t seem to think twice about shooing Nico’s hands away and wiping Nico’s skin. Nico tensed. He was really uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” Will asked once he had wiped off all of the soda from Nico.

Nico swallowed and nodded. “I’m fine. I just...It’s nothing.”

“No, what is it?”

Nico’s face felt hot with embarrassment. “I’m just...insecure.”

“Over what?” Will asked in confusion. But then, he looked down and seemed to only then process that Nico was shirtless. “Over your body?”

Nico nodded and tossed his shirt somewhere near his bag on the floor. When he looked back, Will looked confused again. This confusion seemed a little different, though.

“You’re super attractive, Nico. Plus, I’ve seen you shirtless before, covered in blood even. You’re skinny, but that’s not a bad thing, and you’ve got really nice muscles from all the fighting. You’re a hunk.”

Nico bit his lip. “It’s...I get insecure over those things too, but my main thing is just...all the scars.”

Will’s expression saddened. “Oh.”

Nico gulped and started to stand. “I’m going to get another shirt.”

Will grabbed his arm, though. Nico looked at him curiously, but Will just shook his head.

“No,” Will said. “Keep your shirt off.”

“Uh...Why?”

Nico sat back down at Will’s insistence, and Will moved their food out of the way. He was incredibly close in no time, and his hands ended up on Nico’s chest. Nico watched Will’s fingers trace along like lines of his scars.

“I get that you’re insecure, but you don’t need to be. You’ve been on the frontlines of two wars, and you were _imprisoned_ in one of them. You’ve been through a lot. Of course you have scars.”

Nico sighed. “But don’t you mind them? They make my skin all bumpy and discolored...and there’s so many of them.”

“I don’t see that as a bad thing,” Will replied. “And of course I don’t ’mind’ them. They make you just that much more interesting, and they don’t subtract from how attractive you are. They just add a bit of uniqueness to you. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Nico didn’t understand. He’d always heard about scars being bad. Scars were imperfections, and Nico’s body was covered in them. That just meant that he had a lot more imperfections than the average person. Wasn’t that unattractive?

“You don’t think they make me look...weird?”

Will shook his head. “Of course not. You’re still the most handsome guy in the world.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s you.”

Will smiled, but then Nico shifted a little, and suddenly their position seemed a lot more intimate. Nico was on his knees, so he towered over Will, and Will still had his hands on Nico’s chest. Will looked up at Nico with those beautiful blue eyes, and Nico couldn’t help but gulp. Will was a little _too_ attractive sometimes.

“Hey, Nico?”

“Yeah?” Nico mumbled.

Will licked his lips. “How much do you remember from Aphrodite’s _gift_ earlier?”

Nico exhaled. “A bit.”

“Want to try and recreate it?”

Nico nodded quickly before pulling Will up by his shirt and kissing him. It was a bit more difficult without Aphrodite’s influence, but Nico remembered how it had worked. Once him and Will settled into a rhythm, it was actually easy. They just had to recall what it had been like before. This time, though, Nico was the one to make the kiss deeper, and he reached under Will’s shirt to touch his mark at the same time. Will’s reaction to that had been to grab onto Nico as hard as he could. Nico didn’t mind, though. In fact, he found it quite hot.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Will and Nico pulled away right as Percy froze at the sight of them. It dawned on Nico that the scene looked maybe a little compromising. He had been using so much force that he was almost  _on top_ of Will. Plus, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Ugh, boys.”

She walked right past Percy and over to the other bed, taking her shoes off and pulling her hair out of its ponytail. Nico sat back on his heels, and Will straightened his posture. Percy still looked shocked.

“Percy, you’re being weird,” Annabeth sighed.

Percy snapped out of his shock and scoffed. “I’m sorry if I’m surprised!”

“Apology accepted.”

Percy floundered a bit, but Nico just laughed, shifting into a more comfortable position and picking up his burger. Will grabbed a chicken nugget and dipped it in honey mustard sauce. It was a little funny, if Nico thought about it. It looked like Will and Nico had randomly stopped in the middle of eating McDonald’s food just to make out, and that was pretty hilarious. No wonder Percy was struggling to process it.

It felt nice to be able to share moments like these with other people, even if it was slightly embarrassing. It made Nico feel as though he belonged, for once in his life. It was strange, though. Being around Percy and Annabeth used to make Nico feel the exact opposite way. Before, being around Percy and Annabeth had just reminded him that he was gay, that he stuck out even more among other demigods. Now, it felt nice. They were really starting to become good friends of his.

Nico was glad that he had a support system like them.


	18. Chapter 18

_ When Nico cracked his eyes open, all that he saw was bronze. There was a certain smell to the air: the scent of body odor, metal, pomegranates, and something that seemed rotten. His sword was right beside him, and there were bits of discarded pomegranate seeds at his feet. _

_ He was back in the jar. _

_Nico searched frantically for more of his seeds, but he was horrified as he counted the tallies on the inside of the jar. He didn’t have any more seeds. He was out of his life support, and the air was_ _already hurting his lungs. He couldn’t breathe._

_No one had come to save him. No one had deemed him worthy enough. No one cared about him, so why would they have saved him? He was useless. He was just a worthless waste of space, and he deserved this. He deserved to suffocate._

_He’d hoped that Hazel would come looking for him, and he’d also hoped that Percy would, though that was more of a long shot. He shouldn’t have let himself believe that they would actually come. Percy and him had never gotten along, he’d hardly ever spoken amicably with Annabeth, and Hazel didn’t love him anymore. He had no one, and he was going to die._

_Nico could hear laugher echo outside of the jar as the air became unbreathable. He choked and cried and gasped, but no one came to save him. No one cared about him enough, so he merely sat there and wheezed as his chest got tighter._

_He was going to die._

Nico woke up to a gentle hand running through his hair, but he panicked. He couldn’t breathe. He could still smell the air from inside the jar. He was still being suffocated by his own breath. He was going to die. No one was going to save him, and he was going to die.

“Nico, breathe.”

Nico registered the voice as Will, but his mind was confused. If Nico was still trapped in that jar, Will couldn’t be there.

There was a hand on Nico’s forehead, and then Will hissed. “Oh gods. Annabeth, help me get him upright.”

Nico just let himself be manhandled. The twin giants had done that. Nico had given up fighting, so they’d just picked up his limp body and shoved him into the jar. He’d learned then that sometimes it was pointless to fight. Sometimes, he couldn’t win. At that point, he’d accepted the fact that his life was in the hands of two giants and a group of demigods that probably couldn’t care less about him.

“Nico, listen to me,” Will said. “Try to breathe as deeply as you can.”

Nico blinked as he finally started to process the scene around him. He was sitting up in a bed. The room was lit by a single lamp on the nightstand between the two beds. On one side of Nico was Will with messy hair and a rumpled shirt. On the other side was Annabeth in a similar state. Percy was standing to the side, and he looked a little helpless.

“Percy, try to see if you can work the coffee-maker. A hot, caffeinated beverage will help him,” Will ordered.

Percy immediately started fiddling with the coffee-maker, and Nico was confused. Why did Will want Percy to make coffee in the middle of the night? Why couldn’t Nico breathe, even when the nightmare was over?

Nico became even more panicked as he woke up more. He couldn’t breathe. All that he could manage were painful and strange-sounding wheezes. It wasn’t enough, though. He wasn’t getting air, and it _really_ felt like he was back in the jar. There wasn’t enough air.

Nico doubled over and started to cough, choking. Annabeth and Will tried to pull him up again, but Nico’s body just wanted to curl in on itself.

Nico was properly freaking out now. What was wrong with him? Was he going to die? He couldn’t get any air, and he didn’t even remember how breathing was even supposed to work anymore. His chest was so tight, and it felt like his lungs were sealed off entirely. His vision was getting fuzzy. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to breathe.

“Hey, come on, darling, I need you to try to calm down a little, okay? You’re going to be alright. Just focus on trying to breathe.”

Nico tried to draw in a breath, and it made a weird noise. There was a painful sensation at the back of his throat that made it feel like he was going to cough again. It felt like he was being choked, but Nico tried to breathe. Annabeth and Will pulled him back up, and his head ended up on Will’s shoulder. Will traced his fingers gently over Nico’s throat, and Nico was starting to be able to feel the obstruction more accurately. He could breathe just the tiniest bit now.

Eventually, Percy came forward with a styrofoam cup filled with coffee. Once it was cool enough to drink, Will and Annabeth supported Nico’s head and helped him drink it. He choked a little at first, but then warmth started spreading down his throat, and he felt so much better. He still couldn’t breathe normally, but he could at least take in an actual breath now.

It took a while of Nico sipping bitter coffee and Will and Annabeth supporting him, but eventually, Nico could breathe like a normal person again. His lungs felt a bit sensitive, though, like it wouldn’t be hard for him to fall into that awful state again. He tried to breathe as evenly as possible, just to make sure that it didn’t happen again. He didn’t want to go through that a second time.

“What just happened?” Nico rasped to his soulmate as he leaned against him. If anyone knew what had happened, it would be Will.

Will sighed a bit. He seemed anxious. “You just had a severe asthma attack.”

Nico lifted his head and frowned at Will. “I don’t have asthma.”

“Actually, I think you do,” Will said. “Right after Gaea’s defeat, I sensed a bit of weakness and irritation in your lungs. I didn’t focus on it because your entire body was fatigued, but I’ve always sensed it a little. I guess I just figured it was nothing serious, but what you just had was definitely an asthma attack. You must have developed it.”

Percy raised an eyebrow from his spot at the foot of the bed. “Can that happen? I thought asthma was just, like, something people were born with.”

“It can develop over time,” Will hummed, gently scratching Nico’s back. “A lot of times, it shows up at the beginning of puberty, but it can also be trauma-related...Prisoners of war have been known to sometimes develop asthma and/or COPD.”

It clicked in Nico’s head then. Whatever had happened had felt like suffocating in the jar. He’d been in there for so long. He’d forced himself to consume less air, and the air that he _had_ consumed had been stale and nearly toxic. Could that have really damaged him enough to make him asthmatic? Did things work like that?

“Nico, you were a prisoner of war,” Annabeth concluded aloud, thoughts running along a same vein as Nico’s. “Being trapped in a sealed jar for eight days couldn’t have exactly been easy on your lungs.”

Nico gulped and pulled his legs up to his chest. He put his arms around them but only gently. He was scared to squeeze his chest at all. Will moved his hand away from Nico as well.

“I was...I was having a nightmare about that when I woke up,” Nico admitted, though he wasn’t exactly sure why he was letting Percy and Annabeth know this. “I ran out of seeds, and no one came to save me because Hazel knew I was gay, so she didn’t urge anyone to come get me...I was suffocating.”

There was a small period of silence, and Nico rested his cheek against his knee. He didn’t like thinking about the jar. Honestly, he didn’t like thinking about any part of the wars. It made him anxious. Still, though, he sometimes couldn’t help it. Sometimes, he saw Jason and couldn’t help but remember dodging falling columns and the pain of Cupid’s arrow. Sometimes, he looked at the fire at Camp Half-Blood and saw nothing but the river of fire from Tartarus. Sometimes, he dreamt of Percy Jackson telling him that he couldn’t go fight in the Battle of Manhattan. Sometimes, he was scared to go into the shadows because he worried that he wouldn’t come back out. The last war had been especially hard on both Nico’s mind and body, and he hated being reminded of it, but his own mind wouldn’t stop doing just that. He couldn’t escape the memories of it.

“Nico, even without Hazel, we still would have come to save you,” Percy said.

Nico looked over at him sadly. “Why? I’ve never done you any good. You probably could have found out where the doors were from a giant or something.”

Annabeth and Percy shook their heads rapidly, and Annabeth put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. Nico shrugged it off. He didn’t really want to be touched at the moment. Maybe he would be okay with it later, but not at the moment.

“Nico, I had a dream about you. That’s how we found out, and I _saw_ you. I saw you starving, suffocating, and passed out in that jar. You think I would see that and not come save you?” Percy said.

“Honestly...yeah,” Nico answered truthfully. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my past with you two. I’m just the dumb kid who thinks he’s good enough to mess with the big heroes. Isn’t that how you see me?”

Percy gaped in what seemed to be confusion for a second, but Annabeth merely looked hurt.

“Of course not, Nico,” Annabeth said. “You’re not some stupid kid. You’re a hero just like us. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes. I have too. So has Percy. It doesn’t mean that any of us deserve to rot away in captivity. You’re our _friend_ , and maybe we were more of acquaintances back then, but we still didn’t...me and Percy still never questioned that we would try our hardest to save you.”

Nico caught Annabeth’s hesitation, and something in his stomach felt heavy.

“Someone did, though,” Nico concluded. “Who was it?”

They didn’t seem like they would answer, but Nico looked towards them pleadingly. Percy caved.

“It was Leo and Jason,” he admitted, “but that was just because they were concerned about you knowing about both camps and didn’t really know what side you would be on!”

Nico felt a bit strange, realizing that his assumptions had been true. People really _had_ thought that he was nothing more than a spy, and a person that Nico now considered a friend had wanted to leave him to die. Finding that out was surreal. He knew that him and Jason had really only begun their friendship when they’d encountered Cupid, but he’d still known Jason prior to that. He’d seen him at Camp Jupiter and had spoken to him many times. He’d always thought that they’d been on at least amicable terms, enough for him to not wish death on Nico. It was even weird to hear that about Leo. Honestly, it was strange to imagine people debating whether or not he was worth saving. It made him feel a little less like a person and more like a tool.

“Okay,” Nico said softly. He didn’t want Percy and Annabeth seeing too many of his negative feelings, so he pulled up the stoic mask that he always used.

Percy and Annabeth didn’t look like they knew what to say, but Nico just sat up a little and sighed deeply. The sigh was deep enough to aggravate a tickle in Nico’s throat, and he coughed a few times. It would probably be slightly difficult to breathe for the rest of the night, but he just hoped that he wouldn’t have another asthma attack. That had been _horrible_.

“I’m really tired, guys,” Nico said. It wasn’t a lie; he really was tired. “I’m breathing okay now, so I feel like we can all go back to sleep.”

Annabeth and Percy hesitated, but eventually, they got off of the bed and said goodnight. Everyone lied down yet again, but Nico felt a bit nervous as he lied down. When Will and Nico had originally settled into bed, they hadn’t been touching. Their relationship was still really new, and neither of them had wanted to figure out the mechanics of cuddling when they were so tired. Now, though, Nico felt anxious about sleeping again, at least like he had before. Maybe if he was touching Will, it would soothe him.

Nico looked over at Will. Will had an arm over his head, and he was already looking at Nico.

“Do you think...” Nico whispered, quiet enough that Percy and Annabeth wouldn’t be able to hear it. “Do you think we could cuddle? I’m sorry, I’m just...I’m still a bit freaked out.”

“Of course,” Will nodded, promptly scooting closer and pulling Nico in by his waist. The way he easily handled Nico, as if he were nothing but a rag doll, made Nico’s heart skip a beat. Will was stronger than he looked.

It took a little bit of shifting and shuffling, but eventually they settled into a comfortable position. Because Nico was so light, he was able to settle on top of Will without crushing him. Will’s legs were open, and Nico’s were settled between them. He had his face pressed against Will’s neck, his arms wound around Will’s body, and his hands buried below Will’s back. Will’s hands settled on the small of his back and the back of his head, respectively. It was nice. It made Nico feel good.

“Is this good?” Will murmured into Nico’s ear.

“Yeah, it’s nice...goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Nico slept peacefully for the rest of the night.


	19. Chapter 19

When Nico woke up, it was to voices.

“Just let him sleep. He had a really rough night.”

“What happened? Is he okay?”

“I think he is now...He had this crazy asthma attack in the middle of the night, and it was scary, dude. I thought he was a goner, seriously. His face started turning purple.”

Nico wondered why people were talking about him, but he didn’t want to have to do anything just yet, so he just snuggled closer to Will. Will rubbed the back of his head in response, and Nico melted. It felt really nice.

“Nico has asthma?” a voice asked. It sounded like Piper.

Nico could feel the vibrations from Will’s neck as the boy spoke. “He wasn’t aware of it, so I’m thinking he developed it in response to trauma, especially related to when he was imprisoned in that jar.”

“Guess he’s lucky his boyfriend’s a doctor,” Jason said, probably trying to lighten the mood.

There was a small pause in which Nico nuzzled Will’s neck a little. He was processing the conversation around him, and logically, he knew that he probably should have been letting people know that he was awake, but a bigger part of him wanted to just do nothing but hold onto Will for a little while longer.

“Also, last night, we talked with him a bit,” Annabeth said. She sounded serious, almost remorseful. “When he’d started having the attack in his sleep, he’d been having a nightmare that we never went to save him because Hazel didn’t ’make’ us and that he was suffocating to death. We tried to reassure him that we still would have tried to save him, but...we sort of let it slip that you were against saving him, Jason.”

That was what broke through Nico’s happy haze. His stomach twisted at the thought. If he disappeared somewhere now, would Jason still not want to save him? Would he have died if it hadn’t been for the information he’d possessed and Hazel’s insistence? If he hadn’t been part of the prophecy? Probably.

Nico pulled away and sat up a bit. Will reached out to flatten Nico’s crazy hair, but it didn’t end up really working. Nico cracked his neck and wiped at his face as he sat up and leaned against the headboard. Will rubbed his back for a second, and Nico hummed.

“How long was I out?” Nico asked.

Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason were all in the room, and Jason, Piper, and Percy were standing as Annabeth sat on her and Percy’s bed. In general, it just seemed like there were a lot of people in the room.

“Well, it’s nine now,” Percy answered. “We wanted to let you sleep as long as possible.”

Nico nodded as he got up and grabbed a comb. “Thanks.”

When Nico started combing his hair, he happened to look over at Jason. Jason looked a bit awkward, and it was a strange sight. Usually, Jason always either looked at ease or determined, nothing in between. Nico had only ever seen him look awkward a couple times, after he had found out that Nico was gay. It was strange to see him act this way again.

Nico looked away from Jason when he felt a hand on his back. It was Will, and he smiled at Nico as soon as they locked eyes. Nico almost smiled back, but something caught his attention before he could. He noticed the slight bags under Will’s eyes and the way he looked like he could drift off to sleep any moment. He looked _exhausted_.

“Hey, when did you get back to sleep?” Nico asked him.

Will shrugged and yawned. “I didn’t.”

“What?” Nico said. He couldn’t have heard that right. Will hadn’t gone back to sleep?

“I was worried, alright?” he sighed. “I wanted to be awake in case you had another asthma attack.”

Nico scoffed. “You absolute _idiot_ —“

“Nico, come on,” Annabeth interrupted.

Will held up a hand towards her. “Relax. This is how he shows affection.”

When Will looked over at Nico again, the latter huffed. “You’re such a hypocrite, you know that? You can’t just tell _me_ to take care of myself and then do stupid things like this. We’ve talked about this: you need sleep just as much as I do.”

Will was smiling, and that annoyed Nico. Will wasn’t supposed to smile as Nico scolded him. He was supposed to look regretful. He was supposed to be ashamed of himself.

“You’re cute, you know that?” Will beamed.

Nico grumbled and turned back towards his bag, grabbing clothes for the day. “I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

Nico’s entire body tensed at the words. His heart leapt up to his throat, and he whipped his head around fast enough for his neck to crack. Will, on the other hand, merely slapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

To be frank, the situation was incredibly awkward.

Piper cleared her throat. “Um, Nico? Will? How about we meet you outside?”

Nico nodded, and Piper shuffled everyone out. When it was only Nico and Will, Will took his hand away from his mouth and looked nervously at Nico. Nico didn’t know what to do.

“I didn’t mean to say that,” Will gulped, “but I...I _do_. I love you.”

Nico took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. He turned slightly away from Will so that the boy wouldn’t see just how much Nico was freaking out. Nico was just so anxious, though. Nico had only recently even accepted that liking boys was okay, and him and Will had only had their first kiss the day before. This was way too fast, and Nico was anything but ready for it. Had he accidentally made it seem as though he _was_? Was he supposed to be ready for this at this point? Will _was_ his soulmate after all. Did that mean that Nico was supposed to be ready for the dreaded L-word?

“Nico, please just tell me what you’re thinking.”

Nico tried to re-center himself and looked back at Will. Will was looking at Nico with so much vulnerability and care. He didn’t deserve someone who couldn’t say it back. He deserved more than Nico.

Nico broke their shared gaze and picked at his fingernails. “I—I really care about you, Will. I just...Everything’s moving so _fast_. We only had our first kiss _yesterday_ , and a big part of me is still scared that we aren’t actually meant to be together, and Hazel hates the idea, and I’ve never been good at feelings—“

Nico was cut off by a kiss, not one that was intense, like the ones from the day before. This kiss was a mere peck, one that lingered a little off-center. It was a little awkward, but it was still nice.

Will pulled back and cupped Nico’s face. “Nico, it’s perfectly okay if you can’t say it back yet, and I’m sorry if me saying it made you uncomfortable. All of this is a lot for you, and I get that. I never want you to feel pressured in our relationship, okay? I want you to be as comfortable as possible with me.”

Nico let out a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around Will in a hug. His head lolled onto Will’s shoulder, and it was comforting. Nico wanted to stay like that forever.

“Thank you.”

“Of course,” Will hummed. “Now, though, since we’ve had _that_ conversation, we better get ready for the day ahead of us.”

Nico rolled his eyes but detached himself from his soulmate’s side. “Ugh, fine.”


	20. Chapter 20

“So, tell us your story,” Piper gushed towards Will and Nico. “We _need_ to hear it.”

Nico huffed, but Will smiled.

“Well, I’ve had a crush on Nico since I was twelve.”

_That_ was a surprise.

“Wait, what?” Nico asked, completely dumbfounded. There was absolutely no way that that was true. Nico had never even talked to Will before the war against Gaea.

Will smirked. “You’re so oblivious...You were around briefly when I first showed up at camp, and you probably don’t remember this, but we ran into each other, and I was really embarrassed, so I kept apologizing over and over again. You told me that I was being weird and then walked away.”

Nico thought back and had a vague recollection of some nervous guy not looking where he was going and colliding with him. The physical contact had made him feel a little sick back then.

“ _That_ was what sold you?” Percy laughed.

Will shook his head. “That was just what got my attention...I started observing him whenever he was around, and I noticed that he was really lonely. I started wanting to help him, but that quickly turned into infatuation.”

“I was even more socially inept back then than I am now. How on earth could you have found that attractive?” Nico asked. He was still suspicious over Will’s claim. “And Aphrodite said that the wing part of your mark was the first spark of attraction. How does _that_ fit in?”

Will knocked their shoulders together and rolled his eyes, taking a drink of his coffee. “Listen, Mr. Dark Lord, you’re not nearly as creepy as you think, nor where you ever. You were a kid that had just lost his sister _and_ just found out that his father was not only a god but _Hades_ , the original ‘black sheep.’ Of course, you were having a tough time and were filled with rage, but you had moments where you weren’t. I remember the first time I saw you smile. You were sitting alone on the hill and eating strawberries...You looked so _cute_.”

Nico was about to argue with the idea that he, Nico di Angelo, was cute,—especially when he saw the sappy looks on the others’ faces—but Will wasn’t done.

“Also, Aphrodite said that the wings were the first spark of _mutual_ attraction, so that means that it represents the moment _you_ were first attracted to _me_.”

Nico avoided looking at anyone’s face, but he knew that Will _had_ to be smirking. It was annoying.

“When was that?” Jason asked curiously.

Nico looked up and glared at Jason. He was surprised to see that Jason actually looked _scared_. Maybe Nico was spending too much time with Will. Will had always been immune to Nico’s death-glares, so it had been a while since Nico had gotten that reaction out of someone.

“When I got back to camp,” Nico mumbled. “When the Romans were about to attack...I shadow-traveled to Thalia’s tree, and he came up with Cecil and Lou Ellen in those gods-awful ‘disguises.’ He said he’d needed some fresh air after delivering Chuck, and he grabbed my hands to show me how nervous he was.”

Will hummed in satisfaction. “I told myself that you were just uncomfortable because you didn’t like touching people, but I hoped that you were really as affected as you seemed.”

“Shut up,” Nico grumbled. “At least I have an excuse. You grabbed my hands, and that is a perfectly romantic action. All I did was live in my own angst, and you fell head-over-heels for me. My initial attraction to you at least made actual _sense_.”

Will laughed and grabbed Nico’s hand. “You are the most ridiculous person on earth.”

“I think you’re mistaken. With your fashion sense alone, you can easily take that title away from me.”

“Don’t even pretend that you don’t like how I dress. You told me you thought it was endearing.”

Nico was going to reply with something snarky, but then he remembered that him and Will weren’t alone. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper were staring at them in a way that made Nico self-conscious, so he let go of Will’s hand and awkwardly cleared his throat.

Will seemed to understand, so he just sighed. “Anything else you want to know about us?”

“How did you find out that you were soulmates?”

“I actually found out a bit before Nico did,” Will said. “We were spending time together on one of the docks at camp—Percy and Annabeth, you were there. We were splashing each other, but Nico lost his balance and fell in. He knocked me in too, and as he fell, his hand somehow ended up on my mark. I was shocked, but Nico hit his head, and he was pretty freaked out, so I ignored it. Me and Annabeth took him to the infirmary, and I was going to tell him, but he was having a really rough time and was really upset, so I just let it slip under the rug...I started trying to flirt with him and see if he liked me back, but it was difficult to tell. Then, he went and fought thirteen werewolves at once, and I spent hours thinking that he was dead and that I had missed my shot forever and would never see him again...When he came back and I treated him, I saw his mark and touched it. He was asleep, but he kept mumbling about how nice it felt, so I told him once he was awake. I had to touch his mark again to prove it, but yeah...”

It was a little quiet after the story, but Nico sighed and sipped his hot chocolate (Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper had been told that it was a black coffee, but Will had secretly ordered the hot chocolate for him because he knew that Nico liked it a lot more). It felt weird to listen to Will recounting details of their relationship to other people. He wasn’t really _against_ it, but he just wasn’t used to it. He’d never allowed himself to be put in a romantic light. He’d never dated anyone, and he’d never talked about dating anyone, so he was used to these types of things just not applying to him. Now, they did. He had found his soulmate. Just the night before, Percy and Annabeth had walked in on him kissing said soulmate. Just that morning, everyone had witnessed Nico clinging to him in his sleep. This side of him was being showcased, and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Of course Nico would be the one asking for proof that he has a soulmate,” Percy chuckled.

“Well it didn’t help that I’m a guy and he’s from the thirties.”

Nico frowned. “I’ve always struggled a lot with my sexuality, okay? I thought he had found out about my crush on him and decided to pull a prank in order to humiliate me.”

“Gods, you really go right to the worst-case scenario, don’t you?”

Will nodded dramatically in Nico’s place, and Nico rolled his eyes. He knew that he had a slight problem with assuming the worst in a person or situation, but he didn’t think that it was _that_ bad. He just had a strong sense of self-preservation.

No one could hurt him if he hurt himself first.

“Do you have any cute pet names for each other?” Piper asked, breaking through Nico’s thoughts. Nico was actually caught a little off-guard by the question.

Will frowned Nico’s way. “Huh, I guess we never talked about pet names...what do you think, Nico? What cute endearment would you like me to call you?”

Will was just trying to embarrass him at that point.

“We are _not_ having this conversation right now.”

Will chuckled. “Fine...baby.”

Nico slapped Will hard on the shoulder, and Will winced and laughed at the same time. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper seemed to find it really funny, but Nico was too tired and emotionally drained for his boyfriend’s teasing antics.

There was a feeling in Nico’s chest as well, something that had been there for a while. Ever since he’d been imprisoned, he’d felt this sense of shame. It was shame over how little he meant to the world. He wasn’t important. Only the information he’d had had been important. Only the fact that he was a child of the Underworld had been important. Nico di Angelo, as a person, wasn’t important, though. Everyone knew it, but they didn’t want to seem cruel and admit it. If a person meant something, their mortality wasn’t debated like a controversial business arrangement. They weren’t added on as an afterthought and hardly acknowledged by anyone. While on the Argo II, Nico had felt even more like an outsider than he naturally had before. Leo had been scared of him, Piper had hardly spoken to him, and Jason had treated him like a cross between a porcelain doll and an active grenade. Hazel had checked in on him, and Frank had given him awkward acknowledgments, but Nico had spent the entire time merely _there_ , not as a person but as a tool. Had he been hailed at camp as a hero? No. Had anyone but Will stopped to check in on him and make sure that he was okay? No.

It was a wonder that these people were even pretending to care for him now. He didn’t get it. Why would a person care for something of no value like Nico? Maybe it was because they were intrigued by his relationship. Maybe they liked Will and wondered how, on earth, he had ended up with someone as useless and broken as Nico. Maybe they felt bad for Will. Maybe they were just trying to find _some_ redeeming quality that would made Nico deserve his soulmate.

Whatever it was, it couldn’t fool Nico. He knew the truth. He knew that he was worthless.


	21. Chapter 21

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for longer?” Will asked. “I know I was really anxious about the infirmary before we left, but I don’t want that to make you feel like we need to leave so early.”

Nico shook his head and got in the chariot. Percy and Annabeth were staying in New Rome a little longer, but Nico had told Will that he would like to go back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico wondered why Will seemed so hesitant, though. He’d only dragged himself there for Nico’s sake, after all. Nico had thought that he’d be happy to leave.

“I just want to go home,” Nico mumbled. “Maybe I should shadow-travel. It was only by pure luck that we didn’t get shot out of the sky on the way here, and I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Will frowned deeply. “Absolutely not. Your body is still recovering from the trauma of the war, and I don’t know _what’s_ happening in your head right now, but it’s not good, so I’m not going to risk you overexerting yourself and fading away into nothingness.”

“I’m fine,” Nico said softly, sitting down right at Will’s feet. He didn’t feel like standing, and there was enough room for him to sit because of how petite he was.

“You’re not fine. When you’re ready to tell me what’s going on, I’m all ears, but for now, I don’t want you to do anything dangerous if we can avoid it...The thought of you doing something like that in this headspace...it makes me anxious.”

Nico just shrugged and sent a quick prayer to not be obliterated as Will sent the chariot into the sky. He leaned his head on Will’s leg and sighed. He felt awful, and he just wanted to sleep until this horrible feeling went away. He just hoped that it would go away at some point. He wanted to be happy again. He wanted to be less of a burden to Will.

“Have you thought about the pet name thing?” Will asked at one point, obviously just trying to alleviate the tension. “I know I’ve called you darling a few times, but would you have any preference for others?”

Nico sighed and forced himself to talk. “I don’t know...I liked it when you called me baby earlier...babe is good too, and I like it when you call me darling...you could probably just use any pet name. It’s whatever.”

Will smiled brightly, and Nico felt bad for not being as happy as he was. That was a hard thing to do, though, for Will was just such a happy and bubbly person. Nico couldn’t even hope to keep up.

“I think I’m the same way,” Will hummed. “But don’t feel pressured to use them when we’re around other people. I know that kind of thing can be nerve-wracking for you...do you mind if I use them when we’re around other people?”

Nico shrugged with a sigh. “Go ahead.”

Will seemed really excited over that, and Nico wished that he was in a better mood. He wished that he was in a good enough mood to be endeared by his adorable boyfriend. As it was, Nico just wanted the ride to camp to be over with as soon as possible so that he could lock himself in his cabin and try to remember how to breathe. He was at the end of his social tether as well as every other tether he had. He was just at the end, and he needed some time to process the things that were happening in his mind.

“What’s going on in your head right now?” Will eventually asked.

Nico licked his lips. “I’d tell you if I knew.”

Nico saw Will frown, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t want Will to be unhappy too. Will didn’t deserve that, not like Nico did.

“Is this about Hazel?”

“It’s about everything,” Nico exhaled. “Everyone and their reactions and just...stuff...This trip was a bad idea.”

“What makes you say that?”

Nico looked up at Will. “How I’m feeling right now...I was happy in our bubble, but it’s just...I feel like it’s gone now.”

“Just because people know we’re together now doesn’t mean that our relationship is ruined.”

Nico shook his head. He felt tears well in his eyes, but he desperately fought against them. He didn’t want to cry, not now. He felt as though the act of crying would just damage him more inside, and he didn’t need that.

“I wasn’t saying that.”

“Then what were you saying?” Will asked.

Nico took a deep breath. “I’m saying...I don’t know what I’m saying...I was just...When we left for New Rome, I was happy, and it was good. I was—you and I were in our happy bubble, and I...I feel like you’re still inside but I’ve locked myself out.”

Nico couldn’t focus on his emotions for much longer though because his attention was suddenly drawn to a gleam of bronze that he could spot behind them, and he had to do a double-take. There was no way.

“Nico—“

“Will,” Nico cut in, “Festus the dragon is behind us.”

Will looked behind the chariot and gaped in astonishment.

Not only was Festus there, but he had two passengers on his back.


	22. Chapter 22

As soon as Nico was out of the chariot, he marched up to Leo and punched him in the face.

“Nico!” Will exclaimed, pulling Nico back. Nico just continued to glare at his former companion.

“You died _months ago_ ,” Nico growled. “How are you here?”

Leo gave a nervous smile as he clutched at his eye. “A little physicians cure and a quest to save Calypso?”

At that, Calypso came down from Festus’s back. She was very beautiful, but she reminded Nico a lot of Reyna. Calypso didn’t seem like the kind of woman that would let people mess with her. What a good match for the most impetuous and ridiculous person that Nico knew.

Will eventually let go of Nico and pulled Leo in for a hug. Leo smiled as they embraced. Nico wondered if he’d ever be a person that prompted smiles during reunions like this. Then again, he _had_ led in with a punch. Maybe his lack of worth in other people’s eyes was truly his own fault.

Nico let Will have his own little reunion with Leo, but at one point, he heard a suspicious rustling in the wilderness surrounding them. It made him nervous. He had his sword, but Will wasn’t even armed.

“We need to go,” Nico blurted.

Will rolled his eyes at him, “Come on, babe, we can spare a few minutes.”

Leo made a choking sound. “ _‘Babe?_ ’”

Before anyone could say anything else, a creature emerged from the brush. Nico immediately shoved Will behind him and drew his sword, all out of pure instinct.

As soon as he saw what it was, though, he groaned.

“ _Again_?” he whined. “You have got to be kidding me.”

There were three werewolves standing before him, in wolf form, so he threw his sword to the ground and grabbed the silver dagger that he’d started keeping on him. He was sick of these creatures at this point.

“Will, make sure I stay between you and the wolves at all times,” Nico commanded.

He didn’t even wait for Will to agree before he lunged at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico could see Leo throwing fireballs at the wolves. He resisted to urge to roll his eyes.

By now, Nico had killed so many of these things that it didn’t take long to overpower them. As he killed the last one, though, he felt something hot burn his back.

“ _LEO_!” Will scolded.

Nico wasn’t an idiot, so as soon as he heard that, he hurried to shed his jacket and shirt and found that they were indeed on fire. He glared at Leo as he attempted to stomp out the flames. They were ruined, though, and yet again, Nico ended up uncomfortably shirtless around other people.

“Fire doesn’t hurt werewolves, you idiot,” Nico spat, sticking his bloody dagger back into his belt. “It does, however, burn clothing and _people_.”

Leo put his hands up in defense, and Calypso glared. “Calm down. He was just trying to help.”

Nico merely glared at her too before turning his attention to Will. He immediately rushed towards him and inspected him for any obvious injuries. Will sighed and chuckled a little.

“Hey, Nico, I’m fine,” Will assured him. “They didn’t even touch me.”

Nico bit his lip worriedly and tilted Will’s face to the side to inspect his jaw and neck. “You sure? You didn’t get clawed or burned or—“

Will grabbed Nico’s hands with his own and gave him a sweet, fond look. “Darling, your fretting is absolutely adorable, but I’m sure. You didn’t even give them an opportunity to get near me.”

“Of course I didn’t. It’s my job to protect you,” Nico said.

And then, a throat cleared behind them. Nico kept holding onto Will’s hands as he glared over at Leo. 

“Yes?”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “Okay, am I just dumb, or is the fact that the teenage death creep is gay and dating a ray of sunshine like the most shocking thing ever?”

Nico’s mood worsened, and he turned away as well as let go of Will’s hands. He needed to get back to camp. He needed Will to be safe, and he needed to bury himself beneath the blankets on his bed. He couldn’t handle anything else for much longer.

“We’re leaving. Will, I’m shadow-traveling us and the chariot back whether you like it or not,” Nico said coldly. For once, Will didn’t fight him about his shadow-travel.

“See you at Camp Half-Blood,” Will said right before him, Nico, the chariot, and the Pegasi disappeared into the shadows.

Nico couldn’t get out of there fast enough.


	23. Chapter 23

When Nico finally left his cabin, he was on his way to work off some intense negative emotions via sword fighting. He had learned that it was difficult to get over his emotions by just lying in bed and glaring at the ceiling for three days straight, so he was trying out a different tactic. Hopefully he’d start to feel better after some training.

As Nico walked, he noticed a couple of very familiar people ahead of him. It was Will and Leo. Leo must have made his grand entrance into the camp while Nico had been sulking away in Cabin Thirteen. Regardless, the sight of him filled Nico with dread.

Leo was one of the people that didn’t even pretend to value his existence.

“So, you and di Angelo, huh?” Nico heard Leo ask.

Will nodded. “Yeah...we’ve been together for a little while. Not for too long, but the feelings have been there a while.”

“Are you...?”

“Soulmates?” Will finished. “Yeah, we are.”

At that, Nico saw Will pull up his shirt to show off his mark. Leo looked towards it and whistled.

“Well, that mark is just about as terrifying as he is, so I’d say that’s appropriate.”

“Nico’s really not that scary, Leo. He’s been through a lot, and anger is just how he deals.”

“Still, what do you even see in him?” Leo questioned. His tone made it sound as if there was no way that he could imagine someone actually wanting Nico. “You’re, like, friendly and fun. He’s just a grumpy cloud of darkness.”

Nico couldn’t listen to any more, so he rushed forward and walked right past the two of them. The grass died in his wake. He heard Will call out to him, but he just sped up. He needed to find a skilled partner and get one of those stupid training swords in his hands before he ended up splitting the ground in two.

Luckily enough, he found a partner in no time. It was a Demeter boy named Ellis, and he was a skilled enough fighter. He seemed delighted to train with Nico.

During the third match, Nico spotted Will approaching. It was a shame that he absolutely was not in the right mood to talk to him at the moment.

“Nico, I need to talk to you.”

Nico didn’t even stop fighting. “What about?”

“Can you take a break? Look at me for a second?”

“Actually, Will, I’m pretty busy, so—“

“Nico di Angelo!”

In a burst of rage, Nico pushed Ellis over, knocked the sword out of his hand, and kneeled on his chest. As soon as Ellis surrendered and Nico complimented him on his skills, Nico turned to look at his boyfriend.

“What?”

Will frowned at him. “What is the matter with you lately? You haven’t been this angry with me since Gaea.”

“Well, maybe I’m not angry with _you_. You said it yourself: anger is just how I _deal_.”

“Then who are you angry with? Leo? You never cared about his opinion before.”

And Nico finally snapped.

“Of course I did, Will! I care about _everyone’s_ opinion of me, and you know what?! They’re all bad because I’m _worthless_! The only reason I’m even alive right now is because I knew where a stupid pair of doors were, and even _then_ , the first person that has ever felt like a friend to me was one of the people who wanted to just let me die! You want to know why I’m so angry all the time?! It’s because I’m _nothing_!”

And with that, Nico threw the sword to the ground and stormed off. He ignored the people giving him looks for his outburst. He ignored everything. If he paid attention to it, he’d either hurt someone or burst into tears, and he didn’t want any of that. He didn’t even want to _exist_ anymore.

The closest shadowed area wasn’t far, so it wasn’t long before he disappeared into it. He was still a little weak from transporting the chariot and Pegasi the other day, but the thought of Will catching up to him made him want to vomit, so he risked it.

When Nico got back to his cabin, he locked the door and screamed into a pillow. He was so sick of feeling like this. He was sick of caring about what people thought of him, sick of hating himself so much. He just wanted to be happy again, but he couldn’t see past all of the awful things in his head. For some horrible reason, he was back to square one, and it felt _awful_.

He’d thought that being with Will had made him better, but he’d been wrong.


	24. Chapter 24

There was a knock on the door.

“Go _away_!”

“Wow, Will wasn’t lying. You _are_ mad,” a very familiar yet unexpected voice said.

It was Jason.

Nico was shocked enough to go over to the door and swing it open. On the other side of it were all of the members of the Seven, even Hazel and Leo. Nico didn’t know what to do.

“What do you want?”

Jason frowned and gave Nico a pitying look. “We just want to talk to you...Will messaged us.”

“I’m fine,” Nico glared. “Will’s just worried over nothing.”

“He told us what you said,” Hazel explained softly. “How you feel like you’re worthless.”

Jason looked down at his feet and sighed. “And how you feel betrayed by the fact that your friend once wanted to leave you to die.”

“And also that I just need a better filter,” Leo laughed awkwardly.

Nico looked towards Leo. “No, I want you to be honest. People need to stop lying to me about how they see me.”

“You want honesty?” Frank asked. “Fine, you’re the bravest person that I’ve ever known in my life.”

Nico wasn’t buying it. “Thought that role fell to Percy and Jason, the big heroes and wunderkinds.”

“I’ve never had to survive without a mother,” Percy said.

Jason nodded. “And I still have my big sister around when I need her.”

Nico shook his head and sighed. He knew that he wasn’t going to get out of this conversation easily, so he stepped aside. “Whatever. I guess you can come in.”

They ended up sitting in a circle, and Nico raised an eyebrow as Hazel sat beside him. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“What happened to being disgusted when I touched you?” Nico asked bitterly.

Hazel hugged his arm to her chest. “I’m so sorry, Nico...Everyone told me just how hurt you were, and I realized that I was just being awful. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy...because you’re my big brother, and I love you.”

Nico didn’t like the feeling that was consuming his insides. It was a mixture of hope, hurt, and anxiety, and he wanted it to go away. He wanted to be happily working away in the infirmary with Will again. He wanted smiling to be as easy as it had been before they’d taken their trip to New Rome.

Nico wanted to stop feeling so broken inside.

“I’m really sorry too,” Jason admitted. “If I could take back what I said on the Argo II about you I would, but I can’t. All I can do is apologize because now I know just how amazing and strong you are. You’re my _friend_ , Nico, and maybe you weren’t back then, but I never should have suggested leaving you to die. That’s the least honorable thing that I have ever done, and I hope you can forgive me.”

Nico frowned at his lap. “There’s nothing to forgive. I knew I was worthless, and I was prepared to die. I was _surprised_ when you came and saved me.”

“You shouldn’t have been,” Percy argued.

“You’re one to talk. You didn’t want me to fight at the Battle of Manhattan because you thought I was a traitor.”

“Things were different back then,” Percy argued. “I hadn’t been through as much, and I hadn’t...I was too immature to see just how awful your life was. If my existence had been like that, I couldn’t say that I would have been much better. We both made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean you’re worthless. I don’t think you’re worthless. _None_ of us think you’re worthless. And you know who really doesn’t think you’re worthless? Will, your soulmate, the boy that _loves_ you. He just wants you to be happy.”

“Well, I can’t always _be_ happy, Percy!” Nico snapped. He was getting riled up quickly. “I’m not like just about every single one of you and just _bounce back_ from these things! I have _feelings_ , and they _suck_! How would you feel if everything was taken away from you and yet you _still_ were tortured?! How would you feel if you fell in love with a person just to watch them hate you?! How would you feel if all you were was a _useful object_ instead of a person?! How would you feel if you found out that the people you consider friends _debated_ whether or not to leave you to suffocate to death because they weren’t sure that you were loyal enough?! You have no _idea_ how my brain works, so stop pitying me and acting like it’s easy!”

Everyone looked shocked, and Hazel let go of her brother. Nico felt his entire body shaking, and some tears slipped down his face. Still, he tried his hardest to keep the tears back, so hard that he couldn’t breathe. His panic overwhelmed his senses, and he felt like he was about to burst.

And that’s when the feeling came back.

Nico clutched at his chest as he felt his airways stop working. His breath came out in an airy wheeze, and Percy and Annabeth were suddenly right there.

“Did Will get you an inhaler yet?” Annabeth urged.

Nico shook his head, and he looked around. He had to let the rest of his tears start to fall in order to see, and everyone around him looked terrified, especially Leo. Nico felt a sob bubble up in his chest from his panic, but it got caught halfway between a wheeze, and it sounded off.

“What’s happening to him?” Hazel asked frantically as Annabeth helped Nico stand.

“Asthma attack,” Annabeth explained. “They must be triggered by panic or something. We need to get him to the infirmary. They must have a nebulizer or inhalers or _something_.”

Jason immediately stood and scooped Nico up bridal style. Nico was a little intimidated by the word “nebulizer,” but he didn’t fight the idea nor Jason’s hold. He wanted this to be over, so he clung onto Jason as he cried and struggled to breathe. Jason’s instinct was a good one, for Nico didn’t think he’d be able to make it all the way to the infirmary on foot.

Either Jason was way too strong for his own good, Nico was still as light as a feather, or both because Jason didn’t seem to have a problem jogging to the infirmary with Nico in his arms. Once they got there, they were greeted by the sight of Sarah Schumacher, one of the older Apollo kids, throwing away her gloves. She had her usual perky attitude, brunette ballerina bun and crimson eyeglasses. Her light eyes went wide at the sight of Nico.

“What happened?” she questioned, leading Jason over to an available area. Annabeth, Percy, and Hazel weren’t far behind.

Jason helped Nico sit up on the bed as Annabeth stepped towards Sarah.

“He’s having an asthma attack and maybe a panic attack too? He doesn’t have an inhaler, but Will knows about his asthma.”

Sarah nodded and left for a second. When she came back, she had a strange machine in her hand, it looked like a handheld fan attached to a machine by a cord, but the end had what looked like a mask attached to it instead of a fan.

Nico flinched when Sarah grabbed the back of his neck, but she assured him that everything was okay. From working in the infirmary, Nico knew that she had a really good bedside manner. She wasn’t as good as Will, but Nico was convinced that no one was.

Sarah pressed the machine to Nico’s face, and he panicked for a second, but then someone was soothingly running their hand through his hair, and Sarah was telling him to breathe. It was a slow process, but it was still a lot quicker than when they’d had nothing but time and coffee to help him before.

Eventually, after Nico had been deemed able to hold the machine himself, the door to the infirmary opened, and there was a loud sigh.

“Sarah? Everything good?”

It was Will.

Nico looked over as Will entered the room. He didn’t know how he was supposed to feel, but what he _did_ feel was embarrassing to admit. He felt needy and vulnerable just by the mere sight of his soulmate. He just wanted a big, comforting hug. Will gave the best hugs.

“Oh my gods, what happened?” Will urged, stepping close and cupping Nico’s face.

“Asthma attack. He was yelling at me, and I think something just snapped,” Percy said.

Hazel nodded fervently. “One second, he was telling Percy off, and the next, he was crying and couldn’t breathe.

“It was probably a panic attack too. He was really out of it,” Annabeth finished.

Will sighed and ran a hand through Nico’s hair. His eyes locked with Nico’s finally, and Nico never wanted to look away, but he still really wanted a hug. Maybe a kiss too. He just wanted anything that would make him feel protected and safe.

Nico tried to lower the nebulizer, but Will put his hand over Nico’s and kept it against his face, touching his forehead at the same time.

“You need it for longer,” Will said. “You’re really dehydrated too, and your blood sugar is kind of low. Sarah, get me some juice for him.”

Sarah left to do just that, and Nico pouted. He wanted to kiss Will, but he couldn’t with the stupid machine in the way.

Something in Nico’s chest spasmed, and he coughed. It scared him, and he let out a distressed sound before he could prevent it. Will shushed him softly.

“Hey, it’s okay, pretty baby. You’re okay. Just focus on breathing deeply,” he hummed. Nico liked the way _that_ pet name made him feel for sure, and he tried to calm down so that he could be able to breathe sooner. Will kissed his forehead with a smile.

“Did you just call _Nico di Angelo_ ‘pretty baby’ and survive?” Jason gaped. “You’re a different breed.”

Will chuckled a little and ran his thumb over Nico’s temple. “No, Nico’s just a sweetheart.”

Nico blushed a bit, but he just looked into his soulmate’s eyes. He was a stoic person by nature, but he tried to use his eyes to show Will how sorry he was for screaming at him. He tried to show him just how sad, vulnerable, and in need of a hug he felt. He didn’t know if it was working, but then Will smiled a little.

“It’s okay, darling,” he hummed. “I know you didn’t mean to snap at me. You were just rehearsing for laying into Percy later on.”

“Hey!”

Nico couldn’t help but laugh a little, and that made Will smile wider. After a moment of what looked to be contemplation, Will took the nebulizer away from Nico’s face, grabbed him by the chin, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Nico’s eyes fluttered shut as the kiss lingered, but as soon as Will pulled away, he put the mask back on Nico’s face. Nico frowned in confusion.

“That’s to tie you over so you stop pouting at me like that,” Will laughed. Nico rolled his eyes.

“That was so adorable.”

Nico looked over at the sound of Hazel’s voice. When they locked eyes, he tried to gauge her expression. She looked upset but endeared at the same time, and Nico sighed before reaching out to grab her hand. She smiled at him emotionally as she squeezed his fingers. She definitely didn’t _seem_ disgusted with him anymore.

“I mean, yeah, they’re pretty cute together,” Annabeth hummed.

Nico was a little uncomfortable with anyone but Will calling him that, but it was okay. These were his friends.

His friends could call him that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I am well aware that Hazel’s “apology” is pretty lame and awkward. It’s 100% intentional. Trust me.


	25. Chapter 25

Nico pressed another kiss to Will’s lips and sighed as he pulled away. Will rubbed his lower back. It soothed Nico in a way that he couldn’t explain. He didn’t know when he had gotten so comfortable with Will’s touch, but now, it was the most comforting thing in the world.

“You know, I _do_ have to get back to work,” Will hummed.

Nico flushed and ducked his head. “Yeah, right...sorry.”

Nico felt sensitive tears gather in his eyes as he went to pull away, but Will grabbed him and made him look into his eyes. There was a worried pinch to Will’s brow, and Nico wondered if he was going to start getting a wrinkle there from how often his face held that expression.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Will asked. “Did I do something?”

Nico shook his head and closed his eyes in order to compose himself. As he did, a tear fell, and he rushed to wipe it away.

“I’m sorry, I’m just...I’ve started to get, like, _clingy_ after panic attacks I think. I should have left a while ago. I’m sorry.”

Will shook his head and cupped Nico’s jaw. “Hey, no. That’s not it at all, darling. Do you really think I’d rather wrap people in bandages and listen to them complain about pain when I could have my beautiful soulmate in my arms instead? Absolutely not. If I could, I’d do this with you all day every day until I died.”

Nico took a deep breath and nodded as another tear fell. He didn’t really know what the cause of that one had been. He just knew that everything inside of him felt fragile and off-balance. He didn’t feel as depressed and empty as he had before, but he felt like he needed to be comforted. He felt like his skin was mere talc and that all it would take for him to disintegrate was a strong gust of wind. He needed someone to hold him together.

He needed _Will_ to hold him together.

“Nico, what’s going on? What can I do?”

Nico shook his head and sniffled. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m so sensitive right now. Letting go of you just feels so terrifying.”

Will gave Nico a firm hug, and Nico sighed as all of the atoms in his body seemed to settle. He hid his face against Will’s shoulder and shivered as Will’s fingers dipped beneath his shirt in order to run over his mark. Nico stuck a hand beneath Will’s shirt in order to return the favor.

“Don’t apologize, okay?” Will whispered. “It must just be from the panic attack and the asthma attack. Those things are really jarring, so it makes sense that they affect you like this...How about this? You finish talking with the Seven, I try to work as fast as I can and get Kayla to cover my shift, and then after that, I come to Cabin Thirteen, and we can spend the rest of the day together there. We can kiss and cuddle and talk...and kiss some more.”

Nico smiled, and he nodded once they pulled away. “Okay...but if you take too long, I’m going to be a brat about it.”

“Of course,” Will chuckled.

So Nico ended up walking out of the infirmary alone. He found the Seven outside of Cabin Three, and he approached quietly, maybe too quietly if Frank’s shout of surprise was any indication. Nico smiled awkwardly and avoided people’s eyes.

“Um...did you guys still want to talk?”

They seemed shocked, but Jason moved first. He put an arm over Nico’s shoulders, and Nico couldn’t resist leaning into the touch. Jason wasn’t Will, but his touch was still comforting, even if Nico wouldn’t admit it out loud.

“Yeah, come on,” Percy said, gesturing to his cabin.

They all went inside and sat down, and Nico swallowed awkwardly once everyone was settled. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Percy.”

Percy shrugged. “Wasn’t the first time and definitely won’t be the last. It’s whatever...I didn’t know you felt that way, though.”

“Yeah,” Annabeth nodded. “I mean, of course all of us aren’t _great_ after all we’ve been through, but I feel like none of us were quite as affected as you. Please understand that we weren’t trying to make light of that.”

Nico took a deep breath and let it out loudly. “Will thinks...Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

“No, what is it?” Piper asked. “We want you to open up to us. What is it?”

Nico looked at the floor and fiddled with the sleeves of his sweater. He really didn’t want to talk. He just wanted to fast forward until he was cuddled up to Will in his bed. He wanted to skip over all of this.

“Will thinks...I talk to him about...about _it_ sometimes, and he thinks I have PTSD.”

Nico looked up when his admission was met with mere silence. Everyone was looking at him, and they looked so pitying. The looks almost made him _sick_. He didn’t want people to pity him. He didn’t want people to _look_ at him.

“Oh...oh, _Nico_ ,” Hazel nearly whimpered, wrapping her arms around her brother. Nico leaned his head against hers, and she held on tighter.

“I just,” Nico sighed. “I don’t know. That’s what Will thinks.”

Frank frowned. “You talk with Will, right? Like open up to him and depend on him?”

Nico nodded silently.

“Then he might be onto something,” Jason said, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “He’s probably the person that knows you best...even if you haven’t been close long.”

Nico shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever’s wrong with my head doesn’t affect anything. You don’t need to throw a pity party for me just because my brain is screwed up.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Piper said. “You’re allowed to feel the effects of that.”

Nico just shrugged again, and Piper sighed. She didn’t look pleased.

“What helps you when you feel all of this?” Annabeth asked.

Nico yawned. “Will...he makes me feel safe.”

Jason smiled at that and stretched backwards to lean his weight on his hands.

“As far as I’m aware, you haven’t gotten much of that in your life so far. I’m glad you have him.”

“What kind of miracle worker is this dude?” Percy added, obviously joking around.

Nico smiled softly and gave a small, fond chuckle. “Who knows?”

Hazel hugged Nico tighter, and Nico squeezed her just as tightly in return. It felt nice to have her back, even if he still didn’t feel accepted by her. Maybe it would feel different later, but at the moment, Nico felt like a chain and been broken from around his heart. It wasn’t squeezing so unpleasantly anymore, and it felt so much easier to breathe.

Then, a throat cleared. It was Leo.

“So, uh, I haven’t been around for a while. What’s been happening at camp...you know, besides Nico finding his soulmate?”

“Well, Nico also almost died that one time,” Annabeth hummed.

Nico rolled his eyes. “ _Please_. Like I told Will, it’s going to take a lot more than thirteen werewolves to get rid of me.”

“Says the guy who couldn’t even stand up without me holding him up,” Percy scoffed.

“But did I die?”

There was a moment of hesitation, but then everyone started to giggle. Nico smiled shyly in response. Annabeth was the one to gather herself first.

“Nico would probably be the most reliable source in recounting the state of camp. He’s the only one who’s been here all the time,” Annabeth clarified.

The irony wasn’t lost on Nico at all. Before, he’d been so adamant about leaving Camp Half-Blood and never coming back, but now he was the only one of the Argo II crew that was there full-time. Six months ago, if someone had told him that he would be willingly staying at Camp Half-Blood full-time and enjoying it, he would have told them that they were crazy. This was just so unexpected.

Leo seemed to think so too. “ _Really_?”

“Um, Will...before we figured out the whole _soulmate_ thing, Will told me that a lot of people here actually wanted to be my friend, so I decided to try it out,” Nico mumbled.

“Since when are you so whipped?” Leo asked. His smile fell when Nico gave him a harsh glare.

“I’m not _whipped_.”

“Dude, you kinda are,” Percy said. “You’re always watching him, and you even hold the doors open for him.”

Nico frowned. “I thought that was what boyfriends were supposed to do. I’m just being chivalrous and attentive.”

“You should’ve seen him when the werewolves attacked us,” Leo added on. “He pushed Will behind him and kept himself in between Will and the wolves the whole time. The wolves couldn’t even _touch_ Will, but he was still fretting over him after!”

It was then that Jason’s face lit up. He smiled and laughed, turning to Nico. “Dude, you’re from, like, the thirties, right?”

“Yeah?”

Jason laughed. “You’re totally an old-fashioned romantic.”

Nico didn’t like how Jason had said that. It made him feel as though he was doing something wrong. Was he? Was he really doing this dating thing wrong? He’d never dated anyone before, but he’d really been trying to do what felt right. Was he messing up, though? Was this weird?

“I thought I was supposed to do those things for him,” Nico mumbled, looking at his hands shyly.

Suddenly, the mood in the room became heavier. Nico wanted to leave again. He just wanted to go spend time with Will. He wanted to stop doubting and second-guessing everything. He just wanted things to make sense for a little while.

“Nico, we didn’t mean anything bad by that,” Annabeth clarified. “Hey, look at me.”

Nico looked up at Annabeth. Her usually intense eyes were warm as she looked at him, and Nico didn’t really know how to react to that. Annabeth had never looked at him like that.

Annabeth smiled a little. “There’s nothing wrong with how you and Will are together. It’s just how it ended up, and it’s good. You two are actually _really_ good at communicating, especially considering that you haven’t been together that long. That’s something that’s really hard to do, but you two have it down. And the way you communicate nonverbally all the time...you two have something really special and good.”

Nico gulped a little and nudged Hazel. Hazel moved back a bit, and Nico brought his knees up to his chest. He rested his cheek on one of them and sighed. He didn’t know where it was coming from, but he felt this horribly intense urge to just spill his guts. They were suffocating him a little.

“I’ve never been in a relationship before, and...Will was only my second crush _ever_ , and he’s my _soulmate_...I just don’t want to mess anything up by being _me_ ,” he quietly admitted.

Jason bumped his shoulder against Nico’s. When Nico looked over, the other boy was smiling.

“You’re awesome, dude. You being you doesn’t mess anything up. It just makes it better.”

“Yeah,” Hazel agreed, nodding quickly. “You’re a really good guy, and you take care of the people you love...and don’t deny it because I can think of thousands of times you’ve taken care of me.”

“I don’t...I’m not ready to say ‘I love you’ to him,” Nico shook his head. “We’re not...he loves me, but I...it’s complicated.”

“Hey, that’s totally normal. We all fall in love at different speeds, and saying ‘I love you’ can be a big step,” Piper said with a shrug.

Annabeth nodded. “Yeah, so just let it happen. Stop obsessing over whether or not you’re the perfect boyfriend and just let yourself fall in love and get more comfortable, alright? Trust me, it makes things a lot easier.”

Percy gave Annabeth a private, little smile at that, and Nico sighed. He wondered when he’d suddenly started relying on the Seven like therapists, but it wasn’t entirely awful. He still wanted nothing more than to be alone with Will in bed, but this wasn’t the worst thing he could be doing.

Maybe opening up more to these people would help him.


	26. Chapter 26

Nico let out a big sigh as him and Will finally meshed together beneath the blankets. Will chuckled and brushed some hair from Nico’s face. Nico never wanted to let him go. He just wanted to hold him for the rest of time.

“Who knew you’d be such a cuddle-bug?” Will hummed. “It’s adorable.”

Nico breathed in deeply. His brain was so relaxed that he felt like nothing could go wrong, no matter what he did. He felt completely free to just be him.

“You make me feel so safe,” he exhaled, snuggling closer.

Will tensed for a moment, but Nico just snuck his hands beneath Will’s shirt and pressed against the warm skin he found there. Will was always so warm. Maybe it was an Apollo thing, but Nico didn’t care. As a particularly temperature-sensitive and malnourished guy, Nico got cold a lot. Because of this, he cherished the warmth of his boyfriend greatly. Will could always warm Nico up, and it felt really nice.

Will relaxed again and mimicked Nico’s actions. He moved his hands all the way up to Nico’s soul-mark, though. Nico practically melted against him.

“I’m glad that I make you feel safe,” Will whispered. “I know that must be hard for you.”

Nico just hummed and leaned up to kiss Will. They stayed like that for a while, just cuddling and kissing. At one point, Will playfully bit down on Nico’s bottom lip, and Nico giggled in a way that he would deny ever happened. Will just smiled and kissed him some more, though.

Nico couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He had a gorgeous boy in bed with him, and said boy was treating Nico like he was the most marvelous piece of art to ever be created. He was back in their little bubble, but it was even better this time because it was filled with nothing but warmth and sweetness.

At one point, Will pulled away softly and smiled.

“What was it that Aphrodite was talking about when she was explaining your mark? ...something about the shimmering of your mark representing your favorite aspect of me?”

Nico tried to avert his eyes, but Will held his face. Nico could feel his cheeks heat up.

“I...I guess I just really like how effervescent you are. You’re just...you’re so _you_. I can’t explain it.”

Will’s smile was as bright as the sun.

“Really?” he asked.

Nico nodded and leaned in a little, staring towards Will’s lips. He was overwhelmed by how lucky he was. Will’s entire being in that moment made Nico feel like he was glowing, like he was the moon and Will was the sun. Will was just so bright and beautiful, and as long as Will smiled at him, Nico felt like maybe he could shine brightly himself.

He told Will this, and Will’s smile only got wider.

“And you claim not to be romantic,” Will murmured. “...the way you think is just so poetic and... _special_. I wish I could see right into your mind.”

“You basically can already,” Nico joked.

Will shook his head. “I can see if you’re in a good or bad mood, but I never would have known that I made you feel like _that_ if you hadn’t just told me. I feel honored to be the one you share this with.”

Nico broke eye contact and instead cuddled into Will’s shoulder with a yawn. “Who else would I share anything with?”

“Your friends?” Will chuckled as he smoothed a hand over the back of Nico’s head. “Hazel? I don’t know. I’m just glad that it’s me.”

Nico was feeling a little confident and daring, so he leaned in and pressed a small kiss against Will’s throat. Nico felt Will shiver.

“Oh my gods, what are you doing?”

Nico hummed and did it again. “Kissing my soulmate?”

Will laughed and pulled Nico back up. “You are so irresistible, Nico di Angelo.”

And then he kissed Nico on the lips again. Nico could confidently say that they were getting pretty good at kissing, at least by his standards. Kissing Will felt like drinking a cup of hot tea on a rainy day. It made Nico feel as though there was a flower blooming in his heart, and he didn’t think he’d ever get sick of it.

Being with Will like this felt more magical than anything that Nico had experienced in his life, and he could literally reanimate the dead, so that was saying something.

As Will deepened the kiss, Nico made a soft sound in the back of his throat. It was completely involuntary, but it made him feel even smaller than before. He felt vulnerable, but around Will, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Nico was getting a lot more comfortable being vulnerable around Will. He was comfortable with Will seeing a lot of different sides of him.

This was confusing, though, because Nico didn’t know if that meant he was already in love with Will. It didn’t seem right to move so fast. They’d only been dating officially for a couple of weeks. Even if Nico had been pining after Will for months, it still felt too soon to be in love. Nico had no idea if he was or wasn’t, though. For all he knew, he could have been madly in love with Will ever since Will had held him for the first time that day in the infirmary. His brain was too jumbled for him to be able to tell.

But Nico tried not to think too hard. He always overthought everything, and it always ruined things. He didn’t want that. He just wanted to enjoy this without his thoughts getting in the way. This was too good to risk ruining.

When Will pulled back, he licked his lips a bit. “What toothpaste do you use? Your mouth always tastes really good.”

Nico sputtered a bit. “Will! You can’t just _say_ that!”

“What? I’m curious,” Will laughed. “Plus, isn’t that a good thing? I literally just told you that you taste good.”

Nico just sighed and shook his head. Will was ridiculous, but it was in the best way. He was goofy and fun, and Nico wouldn’t have him any other way. In a way, he felt as though Will balanced him out. Where Nico was harsh and insecure, Will was kind and confident. Where Nico was cold, Will was warm. It was a balance that was a little difficult for Nico to get used to, but he was trying. He was working on himself, and he hoped to one day feel like what he was would be enough for Will.

He wasn’t there yet, but at least he was making an attempt.

“Maybe you can use my toothpaste sometime,” Nico exhaled, looking away from Will’s eyes.

Will smirked. “Or I can just kiss you some more.”

And Will did just that.


End file.
